Pain and cognitive status among nursing home residents in Canada

Abstract

Background: There is little information available on the rates of pain in institutionalized elderly persons, and this is particularly true for Canada.

Objectives: To provide information about the prevalence and clinical correlates of pain in a sample of Canadian nursing homes, to determine whether residents with cognitive impairment experience lower rates of health conditions associated with pain (eg, arthritis) than residents without cognitive impairment and to determine whether the associations (ie, odds ratios) for pain with such health conditions vary as a function of cognitive status.

Design: The study is based on a secondary analysis of data collected with the minimum data set (MDS 2.0).

Setting and participants: The study comprised 3195 nursing home residents in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Subjects and methods: All residents were assessed with the MDS 2.0 by trained clinicians (usually nurses). Pain was documented if it had occurred within the seven days before the assessment. Assessors were trained to look for overt signs of discomfort, such as wincing or verbalizations. Self-report ratings were obtained when possible.

Results: The overall prevalence of pain in this sample was 49.7%, and 23.7% of residents experienced pain daily. Persons with and persons without cognitive impairments did not differ with respect to the prevalence of conditions likely to cause pain and the associations of pain with such health conditions. Regional differences were found, with Ontario residents having a higher frequency and intensity of pain than their counterparts in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This may be due, at least in part, to regional differences in nursing home admission criteria.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the prevalence of identified pain is lower among nursing home residents with higher levels of cognitive impairment. These results do not support the notion that this is a function of lower prevalence rates of pain-causing conditions in nursing home residents with dementia. Furthermore, the results do not support the view that residents with cognitive impairments are less sensitive to pain. This study highlights the need for more comprehensive tools to assess pain in persons with cognitive impairments. Nonetheless, the MDS may be a useful instrument for detecting pain in such populations, because it does not rely exclusively on self-report.