Original ArticleLiterature Review of Pain Prevalence Among Older Residents of Nursing Homes
Section snippets
Methods
Literature related to pain prevalence among residents in nursing homes was collected by searching databases such as PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) using the following key words: “pain prevalence” and “nursing home.” These terms were searched within abstracts and titles. Searches were limited to reports written in English or Japanese about people aged ≥65 years. The reference lists of papers and books related to pain were
Results
Of the total studies reviewed, 27 met the criteria of this study, and these were selected for further analysis. These studies were conducted in the United States (13 studies), the Netherlands (5 studies), Canada (2 studies), Australia (1 study), China (1 study), Iran (1 study), Norway (1 study), Singapore (1 study), Taiwan (1 study), and the United Kingdom (1 study). These studies were published from 1990 to 2009. There was a slight increase in the number of studies on this topic from 2004
Discussion
In the studies that were reviewed on pain prevalence in nursing homes, we found that the prevalence determined in these studies depended on the methods and data sources used as well as on the time frame of pain detection. This relationship was also briefly mentioned in an earlier systematic review of pain prevalence (Fox et al., 1999), but details of the relationship between prevalence and specific factors of the studies were not described. Therefore, in the present study, we discussed factors
Conclusions
Available literature on pain prevalence in nursing homes was reviewed. It was obvious that older residents commonly suffer from pain and serious problems related to pain. The prevalence varied among the different studies, which may be due to methodologic issues, such as the pain detection method and data sources used as well as the time frame of pain detection. The results of these prevalence studies should be interpreted cautiously. Musculoskeletal disorders and fracture were common causes of
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