Validation of Pain Assessment Checklist for Seniors with Limited Ability to Communicate-II (PACSLAC-II) in Iranian older adults with dementia living in nursing homes.

BACKGROUND: Some dementia patients can self-report pain although the reports are not valid in severe dementia. Observational scales have been developed for pain assessment in these patients. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Pain Assessment Checklist for Seniors with Limited Ability to Communicate-II (PACSLAC-II). METHODS: This validation study was conducted on 138 older adults with dementia suffering from chronic pain who lived in nursing homes. The PACSLAC-II Persian version was applied through observations during activity and rest. Reliability of the PACSLAC-II was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha and intra-class correlation coefficients. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis, divergent and convergent validity. The Spearman's rank correlation between PACSLAC-II scores and Faces Pain Scale was calculated for concurrent validity. Known-group validity during activity and rest was calculated by Wilcoxon signed ranks test. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for facial expression (0.82), verbalisation (0.72), and body movement (0.84) subscales indicated good internal consistency. The intra-class correlation coefficients between two raters was 0.76 and in three times evaluation, the value was 0.76. Convergent validity with Iranian Brief Pain Inventory and divergent validity with 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale confirmed the construct validity of PACSLAC-II. Three factors structure of PACSLAC-II was approved, and most of the variance was explained by facial expressions. The PACSLAC-II can discriminate between pain and non-pain events and has a moderate correlation with Faces Pain Scale (r = 0.33). CONCLUSIONS: PACSLAC-II Persian version is a valid and reliable scale for pain assessment in older adults with dementia.

Effects of Spiritual Group Therapy on Caregiver Strain in Home Caregivers of the Elderly with Alzheimer's Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Care of patients with Alzheimer's disease is one of the most difficult types of care that exposes the caregiver to a high level of care strain. The present research aimed at determining the effect of spiritual care on caregiver strain of the elderly with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: An experimental study was carried out on 100 caregivers who were selected by convenience sampling and randomly divided into intervention, control one and control two groups. Group spiritual therapy was performed on the intervention group for five weeks, Control one participate in the group sessions without any particular interventions, and control two received no interventions. Data was collected through a demographic questionnaire and Robinson's (1983) Caregiver Strain Index, and analyzed using the Chi-square, Fisher's Exact test, one-way analysis of variance and paired t-test. Statistical significance level was considered as 0.05. RESULTS: In the intervention group mean of the posttest care strain score 32.43±2.73 was significantly lower than pretest 37.16±1.26 (P<0.001). The mean posttest score of care strain was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the two other groups (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Spiritual care can reduce care strain in home caregivers of the elderly with Alzheimer's disease.