Massage therapy versus simple touch to improve pain and mood in patients with advanced cancer: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Small studies of variable quality suggest that massage therapy may relieve pain and other symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of massage for decreasing pain and symptom distress and improving quality of life among persons with advanced cancer. DESIGN: Multisite, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Population-based Palliative Care Research Network. PATIENTS: 380 adults with advanced cancer who were experiencing moderate-to-severe pain; 90% were enrolled in hospice. INTERVENTION: Six 30-minute massage or simple-touch sessions over 2 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcomes were immediate (Memorial Pain Assessment Card, 0- to 10-point scale) and sustained (Brief Pain Inventory [BPI], 0- to 10-point scale) change in pain. Secondary outcomes were immediate change in mood (Memorial Pain Assessment Card) and 60-second heart and respiratory rates and sustained change in quality of life (McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, 0- to 10-point scale), symptom distress (Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, 0- to 4-point scale), and analgesic medication use (parenteral morphine equivalents [mg/d]). Immediate outcomes were obtained just before and after each treatment session. Sustained outcomes were obtained at baseline and weekly for 3 weeks. RESULTS: 298 persons were included in the immediate outcome analysis and 348 in the sustained outcome analysis. A total of 82 persons did not receive any allocated study treatments (37 massage patients, 45 control participants). Both groups demonstrated immediate improvement in pain (massage, -1.87 points [95% CI, -2.07 to -1.67 points]; control, -0.97 point [CI, -1.18 to -0.76 points]) and mood (massage, 1.58 points [CI, 1.40 to 1.76 points]; control, 0.97 point [CI, 0.78 to 1.16 points]). Massage was superior for both immediate pain and mood (mean difference, 0.90 and 0.61 points, respectively; P < 0.001). No between-group mean differences occurred over time in sustained pain (BPI mean pain, 0.07 point [CI, -0.23 to 0.37 points]; BPI worst pain, -0.14 point [CI, -0.59 to 0.31 points]), quality of life (McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire overall, 0.08 point [CI, -0.37 to 0.53 points]), symptom distress (Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale global distress index, -0.002 point [CI, -0.12 to 0.12 points]), or analgesic medication use (parenteral morphine equivalents, -0.10 mg/d [CI, -0.25 to 0.05 mg/d]). LIMITATIONS: The immediate outcome measures were obtained by unblinded study therapists, possibly leading to reporting bias and the overestimation of a beneficial effect. The generalizability to all patients with advanced cancer is uncertain. The differential beneficial effect of massage therapy over simple touch is not conclusive without a usual care control group. CONCLUSION: Massage may have immediately beneficial effects on pain and mood among patients with advanced cancer. Given the lack of sustained effects and the observed improvements in both study groups, the potential benefits of attention and simple touch should also be considered in this patient population.

Nursing home resident barriers to effective pain management: why nursing home residents may not seek pain medication.

OBJECTIVES: Multiple barriers to effective pain management are present in the nursing home setting. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the extent to which residents in pain declined to request pain medication from the staff, and the reasons provided by the residents to explain this behavior. DESIGN: Every 3 months, a 20% sample of residents in 12 nursing homes was administered a short pain interview, then observed for pain indicators. Medical records were reviewed at the same time for documentation about pain and its treatment. All residents were asked if they had pain (or a similar word) now or in the past 24 hours. They were also asked if they had pain but did not request pain medication. If affirmative, the resident was asked to provide up to three reasons for not requesting medication. SETTING: The study was conducted in 12 Colorado nursing homes, located in both urban and rural settings. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2033 nursing home residents completed pain interviews and/or were observed for pain indicators by trained research assistants. These interviews took place before, during, and after implementation of an intervention to improve pain practices. MEASUREMENTS: A cognitive organizing structure was used to categorize resident responses into a coherent classification. Individual responses were assigned by team members to the appropriate category using a consensus process. The final classification scheme consisted of 10 categories of reasons why residents do not request pain medication. RESULTS: More than one-half of residents (59.5%) reporting pain in the past 24 hours did not request medication for that pain. Subjects in pain were most likely to state medication concerns or stoicism as the reasons for not requesting pain medication. Concerns about staff reactions to a request or perceptions that the staff was too busy were also mentioned frequently by the residents. Subgroup analyses suggested that residents in pain but not requesting pain medication were significantly more likely to be in rural rather than urban nursing homes (67.9% vs. 52.9%, P < or = .01), and white as compared to nonwhite ethnicity (60.6% vs. 52.1%, P < or = .05). They also tended to be older on average (80.4 +/- 12.1 years vs. 77.9 +/- 12.7 years, P < or = .01) than residents who did request pain medication. Finally, residents in pain but not requesting pain medication were significantly more likely to report having both continuous (c) and intermittent (i) pain (71.8% [c + i] vs. 61% [c] or 56.5% [i], P < or = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Interventions to reduce pain in nursing home residents need to be responsive to the concerns of the residents. It must be acknowledged that resident preferences and beliefs may lead to declined pain interventions regardless of the staff's motivation to make the resident more comfortable. Staff nurses also need to make a more concerted effort to systematically assess pain and offer pain medication to residents rather than rely on resident requests.

Measuring pain intensity in nursing home residents.

Assessing pain intensity in nursing home residents remains a challenge. As part of a multifaceted intervention study to improve pain practices in nursing homes, quarterly pain assessments were conducted in 12 Colorado nursing homes. Residents who reported pain or discomfort of any kind in the past 24 hours were asked to choose one of three pain intensity scales to quantify their current and highest level of pain intensity. They were also observed for pain behaviors using Feldt's Checklist of Nonverbal Pain Indicators. Residents preferred the Verbal Descriptor Scale almost 2:1 over the 11-point Verbal Numeric Rating Scale and the Faces Pain Scale. Sex and ethnicity were associated with differences in scale preference. More than one-half of residents reporting pain had an observable pain indicator. There was a monotonic relationship between reported pain intensity and number of observed pain indicators. To improve pain assessment and management in nursing homes, residents should be given a choice of pain intensity scales and observed for possible pain behaviors.

Nursing home resident barriers to effective pain management: why nursing home residents may not seek pain medication.

OBJECTIVES: Multiple barriers to effective pain management are present in the nursing home setting. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the extent to which residents in pain declined to request pain medication from the staff, and the reasons provided by the residents to explain this behavior. DESIGN: Every 3 months, a 20% sample of residents in 12 nursing homes was administered a short pain interview, then observed for pain indicators. Medical records were reviewed at the same time for documentation about pain and its treatment. All residents were asked if they had pain (or a similar word) now or in the past 24 hours. They were also asked if they had pain but did not request pain medication. If affirmative, the resident was asked to provide up to three reasons for not requesting medication. SETTING: The study was conducted in 12 Colorado nursing homes, located in both urban and rural settings. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2033 nursing home residents completed pain interviews and/or were observed for pain indicators by trained research assistants. These interviews took place before, during, and after implementation of an intervention to improve pain practices. MEASUREMENTS: A cognitive organizing structure was used to categorize resident responses into a coherent classification. Individual responses were assigned by team members to the appropriate category using a consensus process. The final classification scheme consisted of 10 categories of reasons why residents do not request pain medication. RESULTS: More than one-half of residents (59.5%) reporting pain in the past 24 hours did not request medication for that pain. Subjects in pain were most likely to state medication concerns or stoicism as the reasons for not requesting pain medication. Concerns about staff reactions to a request or perceptions that the staff was too busy were also mentioned frequently by the residents. Subgroup analyses suggested that residents in pain but not requesting pain medication were significantly more likely to be in rural rather than urban nursing homes (67.9% vs. 52.9%, P < or = .01), and white as compared to nonwhite ethnicity (60.6% vs. 52.1%, P < or = .05). They also tended to be older on average (80.4 +/- 12.1 years vs. 77.9 +/- 12.7 years, P < or = .01) than residents who did request pain medication. Finally, residents in pain but not requesting pain medication were significantly more likely to report having both continuous (c) and intermittent (i) pain (71.8% [c + i] vs. 61% [c] or 56.5% [i], P < or = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Interventions to reduce pain in nursing home residents need to be responsive to the concerns of the residents. It must be acknowledged that resident preferences and beliefs may lead to declined pain interventions regardless of the staff's motivation to make the resident more comfortable. Staff nurses also need to make a more concerted effort to systematically assess pain and offer pain medication to residents rather than rely on resident requests.

Translation research in long-term care: improving pain management in nursing homes.

BACKGROUND: Pain prevalence in nursing homes remains high, with multiple resident, staff, and physician barriers presenting serious challenges to its improvement. AIMS: The study aims were to (1) develop and test a multifaceted, culturally competent intervention to improve nursing home pain practices; (2) improve staff, resident, and physician knowledge and attitudes about pain and its management; (3) improve actual pain practices in nursing homes; and (4) improve nursing home policies and procedures related to pain. METHODS: A multifaceted, culturally competent intervention was developed and tested in six Colorado nursing homes, with another six nursing homes serving as control sites. Both educational and behavioral change strategies were employed. FINDINGS: The intervention was successful in improving the percentage of residents reporting constant pain in the treatment homes. Contextual factors (implementation of Medicare's Nursing Home Compare report card) appeared to exert a positive influence on pain documentation. There was no reduction in the percentage of residents reporting pain or reporting moderate/severe pain. DISCUSSION: Multiple challenges to quality improvement exist in nursing homes. Turnover of nursing staff reduced actual exposure to the intervention, and turnover of directors of nursing influenced constancy of message and overall facility stability. Residents often failed to report their pain, and physicians were reluctant to alter their prescribing practices. IMPLICATIONS: Any intervention to improve pain management in nursing homes must target explicitly the residents, nursing home staff, and primary care physicians. Implementation strategies need to accommodate the high turnover rates among staff, as well as the changes among the nursing home leadership. CONCLUSIONS: Pain is a complex problem in the nursing home setting. Multiple factors must be considered in both the design and implementation of interventions to improve pain practices and reduce pain prevalence in nursing homes.