Higgins Isabel, Madjar Irena, Walton Jo Ann
Faculty of Health, Deputy Head of School, School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.
J Nurs Manag. 2004 May;12(3):167-73. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2834.2003.00437.x.
The incidence of chronic pain amongst elderly people in nursing homes is very high, making pain in this population a serious problem for aged care facilities. Research studies reveal a pattern of poor pain management in this setting despite the high incidence of pain suggesting that the management of pain in nursing homes is limited in scope and only partially effective. What is not fully appreciated by health professionals is the impact pain has on the lives of elderly people who live in nursing homes. In the study reported here a phenomenological method was used involving several in depth interviews with elderly people over a period of 9 months. Field notes of observations were also recorded as the participants went about their everyday lives in the nursing home. The discussion focuses on some of the themes drawn from the study with an emphasis on a key theme 'being constantly pained'. The findings of the study highlight what it is like to experience pain and how this impacts on everyday lives of elderly people. The paper concludes with some suggestions for health professional for improving care in this area.
养老院中老年人群体中慢性疼痛的发生率非常高，这使得疼痛成为老年护理机构面临的一个严重问题。研究表明，尽管疼痛发生率很高，但在这种情况下疼痛管理情况不佳，这意味着养老院的疼痛管理范围有限且效果欠佳。医护人员并未充分认识到疼痛对养老院老年人生活的影响。在本报告的研究中，采用了现象学方法，在9个月的时间里对老年人进行了多次深度访谈。在参与者在养老院的日常生活中，还记录了观察的现场笔记。讨论聚焦于研究中得出的一些主题，重点是一个关键主题——“持续疼痛”。该研究的结果突出了经历疼痛的感受以及这对老年人日常生活的影响。本文最后为医护人员提出了一些改进该领域护理工作的建议。
