Jessica Rose December 13, 2015
Student ID# 277419 XTT Task 1
BSN to MSN

A Currently in my facility, we do not have a policy regarding geriatric and/or demented patients and pain control. I believe this needs to be changed because although we have an initial assessment protocol, we do not have any kind of protocol to control a geriatric or demented patients pain. Since demented patients are quite often left unable to communicate their feelings, I believe there would be, less adverse effects and better patient outcomes for this group of people and better satisfaction with their families.

B There are many people associated with proposing the change within the facility. First would be to go through the …show more content…

Data was collected using standardized nursing interviews. The population consisted of community dwelling people aged >75 years of age. Participants were asked about their prescription and nonprescription drugs taken within the prior two weeks and rating their pain levels on a standardized scale of 1-10. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination. Half of all participants had used acetaminophen and opiods within the previous two weeks with increased use among frail patients. There was no data to determine the efficacy of pharmacological interventions on mobility or possible adverse drug events. Dosing ranges were also not explored throughout the different groups; however, nearly 47% of frail analgesic users had indicated that they desired their physician to pay more attention to their pain levels which may indicate inadequate pain control. Acetaminophen was found to be most widely used for frail and pre-frail participants. It was also indeterminable as to whether use of other drugs, such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants were used for their possible analgesic effects. Although this study seems to determine that clinicians need to better assess pain levels in elderly patients, it does appear that more information and additional studies is required.

Haasum, Y., Fastbom, J., Fratiglioni, L., Kareholt, I., & Johnell, K. (2011). Pain treatment in elderly persons with and without