Abstract
This study involved 58 persons with dementia living in three rural Canadian long-term care (LTC) facilities. In an attempt to find the relationship between these person's possible pain and levels of agitation, data on five proxy indicators of pain were collected and correlated with scores from the Pittsburgh Agitation Scale (PAS). Results indicated that three of the resident pain measures were significantly correlated with PAS scores. In particular, the palliative consultant pain ratings and the DS-DAT were strongly correlated with total PAS scores, and the five PAS sub-factors. Importantly, the PAS sub-factor of resistance to care was strongly correlated with three of the pain variables. Major study implications include the need for increased use of palliative pain consultants in LTC, and the need for nursing staff to realize that when demented residents resist care, it may be a potential clue that the resident is experiencing untreated pain.
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Authors
-
- Zieber, Colin George
- University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
Subjects
dc:subject × 6Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Identifier
- hdl:10133/210
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/210