International consensus-based policy recommendations to advance universal palliative care access from the American Academy of Nursing Expert Panels.

The purpose of this consensus paper was to convene leaders and scholars from eight Expert Panels of the American Academy of Nursing and provide recommendations to advance nursing's roles and responsibility to ensure universal access to palliative care. On behalf of the Academy, these evidence-based recommendations will guide nurses, policy makers, government representatives, professional associations, and interdisciplinary and community partners to integrate palliative nursing services across health and social care settings. Through improved palliative nursing education, nurse-led research, nurse engagement in policy making, enhanced intersectoral partnerships with nursing, and an increased profile and visibility of palliative care nurses worldwide, nurses can assume leading roles in delivering high-quality palliative care globally, particularly for minoritized, marginalized, and other at-risk populations. Part II herein provides a summary of international responses and policy options that have sought to enhance universal palliative care and palliative nursing access to date. Additionally, we provide ten policy, education, research, and clinical practice recommendations based on the rationale and background information found in Part I. The consensus paper's 43 authors represent eight countries (Australia, Canada, England, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, South Africa, United States of America) and extensive international health experience, thus providing a global context for the subject matter.

A Paradigm Shift for Movement-based Pain Assessment in Older Adults: Practice, Policy and Regulatory Drivers.

BACKGROUND: The profession of nursing has been on the front line of pain assessment and management in older adults for several decades. Self-report has traditionally been the most reliable pain assessment method, and it remains a priority best practice in identifying the presence and intensity of pain. Although advances in technology, biomarkers, and facial cue recognition now complement self-report, it is still important to maximize self-report of pain and to gather understanding of the total pain experience directly from patients. Practices in pain assessment in older adults have evolved over the past 25 years, and current research and quality improvement studies seek not only to detect the presence of pain, but also to determine the best protocol for assessment and most important pain characteristics to assess. Increasing data are now supporting two emerging practices: (1) consistently assessing the impact of pain on function, and (2) measuring pain during movement-based activities rather than at rest. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is thus to discuss the shifting paradigm for movement-based pain assessment in older adults, as well as the practice, policy, and regulatory drivers that support this practice change.

American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel consensus statement on nursing's roles in ensuring universal palliative care access.

The purpose of this consensus paper was to convene leaders and scholars from eight Expert Panels of the American Academy of Nursing and provide recommendations to advance nursing's roles and responsibility to ensure universal access to palliative care. Part I of this consensus paper herein provides the rationale and background to support the policy, education, research, and clinical practice recommendations put forward in Part II. On behalf of the Academy, the evidence-based recommendations will guide nurses, policy makers, government representatives, professional associations, and interdisciplinary and community partners to integrate palliative nursing services across health and social care settings. The consensus paper's 43 authors represent eight countries (Australia, Canada, England, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, South Africa, United States of America) and extensive international health experience, thus providing a global context for the subject matter. The authors recommend greater investments in palliative nursing education and nurse-led research, nurse engagement in policy making, enhanced intersectoral partnerships with nursing, and an increased profile and visibility of palliative nurses worldwide. By enacting these recommendations, nurses working in all settings can assume leading roles in delivering high-quality palliative care globally, particularly for minoritized, marginalized, and other at-risk populations.

Relationships among pain intensity, pain-related distress, and psychological distress in pre-surgical total knee arthroplasty patients: a secondary analysis.

The current study aimed to examine the relationships between movement and resting pain intensity, pain-related distress, and psychological distress in participants scheduled for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study examined the impact of anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing on the relationship between pain intensity and pain-related distress. Data analyzed for the current study (N = 346) were collected at baseline as part of a larger Randomized Controlled Trial investigating the efficacy of TENS for TKA (TANK Study). Participants provided demographic information, pain intensity and pain-related distress, and completed validated measures of depression, anxiety, and pain catastrophizing. Only 58% of the sample reported resting pain >0 while 92% of the sample reported movement pain >0. Both movement and resting pain intensity correlated significantly with distress (rs = .86, p < .01 and .79, p < .01, respectively). About three quarters to two thirds of the sample (78% for resting pain and 65% for movement pain) reported different pain intensity and pain-related distress. Both pain intensity and pain-related distress demonstrated significant relationships with anxiety, depression, and catastrophizing. Of participants reporting pain, those reporting higher anxiety reported higher levels of distress compared to pain intensity. These findings suggest that anxious patients may be particularly distressed by movement pain preceding TKA. Future research is needed to investigate the utility of brief psychological interventions for pre-surgical TKA patients.

Evidence-Based Practice Guideline: Persistent Pain Management in Older Adults.

More individuals develop and endure constant or recurring pain in older adulthood. Although 40% of these individuals receive no treatment, many evidence-based treatments are available. Accurate assessment of pain, its impact on functioning, and preventing treatment-related harms lay the foundation of safe, effective pain control. Analgesic agents are often necessary, but require a delicate balance to prevent under-treatment, the unnecessary abandonment of therapy, or exposure to potentially serious adverse effects. Nondrug therapies must be better integrated into the treatment plan to ensure overall safety. Evidence-based approaches help older adults thrive and survive longer despite living with persistent pain. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 43(7), 20-31.].

Evidence-Based Practice Guideline : Acute Pain Management in Older Adults.

Acute pain is a prevalent problem in a growing segment of the older adult population and is often ineffectively managed despite the accumulation of evidence to guide assessment and support interventions in managing pain. Improvements in acute pain management in older adults are needed to provide consistent and quality pain assessment techniques and treatment therapies consistent with patient and/or family preferences. The current article briefly discusses ways to improve the pain experience and outcomes for older patients and families. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 43(2), 18-27.].

Implementing a paradigm shift: incorporating pain management competencies into pre-licensure curricula.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is 1) to present the historical context and rationale for competency-based pain management education; and 2) to suggest learning tools that faculty might apply into their teachings and their institutions' pre-licensure curricula for promoting conceptual learning based on competency-based pain management education. DESIGN: Based on the well-documented need to improve the competency of health care professionals in pain assessment and management, an interprofessional group of health care providers collaborated and then convened in August 2012 to develop core competencies for pain management for the pre-licensure programs of study across health care disciplines. This interprofessional group of pain educators achieved consensus on a common set of pain-related competencies intended to be implemented across a variety of pre-licensure professional programs. SETTING: A group of the interprofessional faculty, who participated in the development of the core competencies for pain management, provides a follow-up of how to implement learning tools within teaching and curricula, based on competency education in pre-licensure health care. RESULTS: Broad questions about how to incorporate competencies into pre-licensure curricula, for all health provider pre-licensure programs, including how to assess competency across individuals and how to teach in ways that emphasize the demonstration of conceptual learning, remain unanswered. This article reviews how the use of competencies creates historical context for a shift from teaching to learning and concludes with suggestions and exemplars in applying core competencies for pain management in pre-licensure programs.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Revised Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT-R) in a Sample of Diverse Cognitively Intact and Impaired Older Adults: A Pilot Study.

Self-report pain assessment tools are commonly used in clinical settings to determine patients' pain intensity. The Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) is a tool that was developed for research, but also can be used in clinical settings. However, its utility in clinical settings is challenging because it uses a 13-point scale (0-12 scale) that does not align with common electronic pain scoring metrics. Therefore, this study evaluated the psychometric properties of an 11-point (0-10 scale) adaptation of the Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT-R) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the IPT-R and to determine patient preference for a self-report pain assessment tool. A descriptive, correlational design was employed. The IPT-R was compared with the original IPT and a numeric rating scale (NRS). This study was conducted in the southeastern United States with 75 adults ranging in age from 65-95 years with varying levels of cognition. Participants were primarily representative of black and white backgrounds. Participants were asked to rate current pain, worst pain during the past week, and reassessment of current pain after 10-minute intervals using three scales (IPT-R, IPT, and NRS) presented in random order. Participants were asked to identify the tool preferred (the easiest to use and that best represented their pain intensity). Spearman-rank correlations were performed to determine convergent validity and test-retest reliability. Based on the results of this preliminary study, the IPT-R has good validity and reliability. The participants in this sample preferred the IPT-R over the original IPT (0-12 scale) and the traditional NRS (0-10 scale). Clinicians may consider using this tool with diverse older patients to assess pain intensity.

Practice recommendations for pain assessment by self-report with African American older adults.

Despite decades of education and clinical practice guidelines underscoring disparities in pain management, pain continues to be inadequately managed in older African American adults as a result of patient, provider, and systems factors. Critical factors influencing pain assessment in older African American adults has not been extensively examined, contributing to a lack of data to inform health care providers' knowledge on culturally-responsive pain assessment in older African Americans. Assessing pain in older African Americans is unique because differences in language, cultural beliefs, and practices moderate how they report and express pain. This paper presents an overview of patient-provider factors that affect pain assessment in older African Americans with a focus on this population's unique cultural beliefs and practices. Recommendations for best practices for performance of a culturally-responsive pain assessment with older African Americans are provided.

Pain Management for Older African Americans in the Perianesthesia Setting: The "Eight I's".

National legislation (Affordable Care Act) emphasizes quality and equitable pain care for all patient populations, but frequently, pain management is not effective and equitable in African American (AA) elders, placing them at higher risk for severe pain and persistent pain. Research shows that AAs are less likely to receive guideline-based pain care. This underscores the need for perianesthesia nurses to be knowledgeable and capable of integrating cultural practices and evidence-based recommendations into their care of older AAs to ensure adequate pain management in this vulnerable population. This article describes differences and disparities in pain management in AA older adults and provides a cultural framework to guide perianesthesia pain management.

Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Caregivers of Persons with Pain Strategies to address stress and improve self-care.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses. Cite this article as: Tonkikh, O., et al. Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Caregivers of Persons with Pain. Am J Nurs 2023; 123 (6): 55-61.

Managing Older Adults' Chronic Pain: Lower-Risk Interventions.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses.

Interrupting Biases in the Experience and Management of Pain Nurses can help address challenges faced by racially and ethnically diverse patients and caregivers.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. The articles in this new installment of the series provide practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses. Cite this article as: Booker, S.Q., et al. Interrupting Biases in the Experience and Management of Pain. Am J Nurs 2022; 122(9): 48-54.

Managing Older Adults' Chronic Pain: Higher-Risk Interventions.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses.

Managing Older Adults' Chronic Pain: Higher-Risk Interventions How to help caregivers promote safe pain management.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses. Cite this article as: Arnstein, P., et al. Managing Older Adults' Chronic Pain: Higher-Risk Interventions. Am J Nurs 2023; 123 (4): 56-61.

Managing Older Adults' Chronic Pain: Lower-Risk Interventions Nurses can engage family caregivers in creating, implementing, and evaluating the treatment plan.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses. Cite this article as: Arnstein, P., et al. Managing Older Adults' Chronic Pain: Lower-Risk Interventions. Am J Nurs 2023; 123 (2): 46-52.

Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Caregivers of Persons with Pain.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses.

Assessing Pain in Older Adults: Caregivers play a key role in recognizing and documenting pain at home.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses. Cite this article as: Horgas, A.L., et al. Assessing Pain in Older Adults. Am J Nurs 2022; 122 (12): 42-48.

Interrupting Biases in the Experience and Management of Pain.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. The articles in this new installment of the series provide practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses.