Pain Assessment for Older Persons in Nursing Home Care: An Evidence-Based Practice Guideline

Up to 80% of nursing home residents are affected by pain. Pain assessment aims to determine pain intensity, quality, and course of pain to underpin diagnostic decision making. In the nursing home population, pain assessment is frequently compromised by cognitive impairment. Characteristics of the nursing home setting, such as resident's age, staff skill mix, and overall aims of the care provided, also need to be taken into account. Therefore, an interdisciplinary evidence-based clinical practice guideline for pain assessment in the nursing home setting was developed.