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.

Correlation between epidural space depth measured with ultrasound and MRI compared to clinical loss of resistance when performing lumbar epidural steroid injection.

BACKGROUND: This prospective study assessed the accuracy of MRI and ultrasound (US) measurements as a preprocedural assessment tool for predicting clinical loss of resistance depth (CLORD) during fluoroscopy-guided lumbar epidural steroid injections (ESIs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients enrolled received lumbar ESIs at an academic chronic pain clinic. The MRI measurement calculated the distance between the skin and the posterior epidural space, while US measurements included transverse and parasagittal oblique views of the interlaminar space. The epidural space measurements were compared with the CLORD during the performance of the prone epidural injections. The differences in measurements were analyzed using two one-sided tests for equivalency with a 0.5 equivalency margin. The intraclass correlation coefficients between CLORD and the imaging modalities were estimated using mixed effects models. RESULTS: MRI was equivalent to CLORD with a mean difference of -0.2 cm (95% CI -0.39 to -0.11). US transverse and US parasagittal oblique measurements were not equivalent to and underestimated CLORD with mean differences of -0.98 cm (90% CI -1.8 to -0.77) and -0.79 cm (90% CI -1.0 to -5.9), respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients between MRI and CLORD were the highest at 0.85, compared with 0.65 and 0.73 for transverse and parasagittal oblique US views, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: MRI measurements are preferable over US for preprocedural assessment of patients receiving lumbar ESIs for predicting CLORD.

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.

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: 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.

Development of a national pain management competency profile to guide entry-level physiotherapy education in Canada.

BACKGROUND: National strategies from North America call for substantive improvements in entry-level pain management education to help reduce the burden of chronic pain. Past work has generated a valuable set of interprofessional pain management competencies to guide the education of future health professionals. However, there has been very limited work that has explored the development of such competencies for individual professions in different regions. Developing profession-specific competencies tailored to the local context is a necessary first step to integrate them within local regulatory systems. Our group is working toward this goal within the context of entry-level physiotherapy (PT) programs across Canada. AIMS: This study aimed to create a consensus-based competency profile for pain management, specific to the Canadian PT context. METHODS: A modified Delphi design was used to achieve consensus across Canadian university-based and clinical pain educators. RESULTS: Representatives from 14 entry-level PT programs (93% of Canadian programs) and six clinical educators were recruited. After two rounds, a total of 15 competencies reached the predetermined endorsement threshold (75%). Most participants (85%) reported being "very satisfied" with the process. CONCLUSIONS: This process achieved consensus on a novel pain management competency profile specific to the Canadian PT context. The resulting profile delineates the necessary abilities required by physiotherapists to manage pain upon entry to practice. Participants were very satisfied with the process. This study also contributes to the emerging literature on integrated research in pain management by profiling research methodology that can be used to inform related work in other health professions and regions.

Contexte: Contexte: Les stratégies nationales nord-américaines préconisent des améliorations sensibles à la formation de base en matiére de prise en charge de la douleur afin de contribuer à la réduction du fardeau de la douleur chronique. Des travaux antérieurs ont généré un ensemble de compétences interprofessionnelles utile en matiére de prise en charge de la douleur afin de guider la formation des futurs professionnels de la santé. Cependant, trés peu de travaux ont porté sur l'acquisition de telles compétences pour des professions individuelles dans différentes régions. L'uisition de compétences spécifiques à une profession adaptées au contexte local est une première étape nécessaire pour leur intégration dans les systèmes réglementaires locaux. Notre groupe travaille à cet objectif dans le cadre de programmes de formation de base en physiothèrapie partout au Canada.Objectifs: Cette étude visait à créer un profil de compétences consensuel pour la prise en charge de la douleur, propre au contexte canadien de la physiothérapie.Méthodes: Un devis Delphi modifié a étè utilisé pour parvenir à un consensus parmi des formateurs en milieu universitaire et clinique en matière de douleur en milieu universitaire et clinique.Résultats: Des représentants de 14 programmes de formation de base en physiothérapie (93 % des programmes canadiens) et de six formateurs en milieu clinique ont été recrutés. Après deux tours, 15 compétences ont atteint le seuil d'approbation prédéterminé (75 %). La plupart des participants (85 %) ont déclaré être « très satisfaits ¼du processus.Conclusions: Ce processus a permis de dégager un consensus sur un nouveau profil de compétences en matiére de prise en charge de la douleur propre au contexte canadien de la physiothérapie. Ce profil délimite les habiletés requises des physiothérapeutes pour prendre en charge la douleur en début de pratique. Les participants ont été très satisfaits du processus. Cette étude contribue également à la littérature émergente sur la recherche intégrée en matière de prise en charge de la douleur en définissant une méthodologie de recherche qui peut être utilisée pour éclairer des travaux similaires dans d'autres professions de la santé et dans d'autres régions.

History and Epidemiology of Cancer Pain.

Pain is indelibly associated with the cancer experience. A systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that the prevalence of cancer pain is 55% during anticancer treatment, 66.4% in advanced, metastatic, or terminal disease, and 39.3% after curative treatment.

UC Davis Train-the-Trainer Primary Care Pain Management Fellowship: Addressing the Pain Management Education Gap.

PROBLEM: Primary care providers are responsible for the majority of pain care and opioid prescribing, but they are often inadequately trained. Training current providers to address the crisis of excessive opioid prescribing and inadequate pain management is a substantial workforce problem that requires urgent action. This educational need is vast and requires a staged solution to amplify its effect. APPROACH: The University of California, Davis Train-the-Trainer (T3) Primary Care Pain Management Fellowship targets the most pressing topics related to pain management, including prescription drug abuse, responsible opioid prescribing, and substance abuse, as well as broad coverage of comprehensive pain management. It offers an innovative, scalable solution to address the education gap in pain management that, in part, fuels the opioid epidemic in the United States. The T3 Fellowship incorporates a competency-based curriculum and a hybrid educational model of in-person and distance-based learning and direct faculty-fellow mentoring to comprehensively train primary care providers in pain care and prepare them to train others. Since it was established in 2017, 2 cohorts (of 17 and 26 fellows) have completed the 10-month fellowship and a third cohort of 38 fellows started the program in September 2019. OUTCOMES: Pre- and postprogram surveys for the first 2 cohorts, and a 6-month postprogram survey for the first cohort, demonstrated fellows' improvement and sustained performance in pain competencies as well as increased recognition and understanding of pain and related topics. NEXT STEPS: If adopted by other institutions and expanded across the country, the T3 Fellowship holds potential for developing an ever-growing legion of trained professionals who will locally fill the need for effective pain management, including appropriate opioid prescribing. Advancing this model will require further economic and feasibility studies to assess costs, resources, and other variables, as well as a robust comprehensive outcomes program.

Responding to the Opioid Epidemic: Educational Competencies for Pain and Substance Use Disorder from the Medical Schools of the University of California.

OBJECTIVE: The University of California (UC) leadership sought to develop a robust educational response to the epidemic of opioid-related deaths. Because the contributors to this current crisis are multifactorial, a comprehensive response requires educating future physicians about safe and effective management of pain, safer opioid prescribing, and identification and treatment of substance use disorder (SUD). METHODS: The six UC medical schools appointed an opioid crisis workgroup to develop educational strategies and a coordinated response to the opioid epidemic. The workgroup had diverse specialty and disciplinary representation. This workgroup focused on developing a foundational set of educational competencies for adoption across all UC medical schools that address pain, SUD, and public health concerns related to the opioid crisis. RESULTS: The UC pain and SUD competencies were either newly created or adapted from existing competencies that addressed pain, SUD, and opioid and other prescription drug misuse. The final competencies covered three domains: pain, SUD, and public health issues related to the opioid crisis. CONCLUSIONS: The authors present a novel set of educational competencies as a response to the opioid crisis. These competencies emphasize the subject areas that are fundamental to the opioid crisis: pain management, the safe use of opioids, and understanding and treating SUD.

Cancer Pain Treatment and Management: An Interprofessional Learning Module for Prelicensure Health Professional Students.

Introduction: The imperative of medicine is to treat suffering and to cure when possible. This learning module has been designed to expand providers' knowledge of how to sustain life, restore health, relieve suffering, and provide comfort for people who are experiencing cancer-induced pain. The module uses cancer pain as the context through which students can learn interprofessional, team-based, and person-centered approaches to delivery of care. Methods: Using the facilitator's guide, handouts, and other materials developed for this project, the module can be delivered as an in-person training session (approximately 120 minutes) for small groups of learners (teams of eight to 12 students drawn from multiple health care professions or schools). Prelearning materials and postsession activities are included that can enhance the experience. Results: This module was developed and tested with two pilot programs that were evaluated with focus groups, direct observation, and a postsession survey completed by learners. Data demonstrated high approval of and appreciation for the content and structure of the module by both learners and facilitators. Discussion: Many learners work with other health care professionals in their clinical experiences but have not had opportunities to effectively work in interprofessional collaborative practice. This interprofessional education activity allows students from disparate health professions to work together to identify patient-centered treatment options through interprofessional collaborative teamwork in a classroom setting.

The Art of Analgesia: A Pilot Study of Art Museum Tours to Decrease Pain and Social Disconnection Among Individuals with Chronic Pain.

OBJECTIVE: This mixed-methods study examines the feasibility of art museum tours (Art Rx) as an intervention for individuals with chronic pain. METHODS: Art Rx provided 1-hour docent-led tours in an art museum to individuals with chronic pain. Survey data were collected pre-tour, immediately post-tour, and at three weeks post-tour. Pain intensity and unpleasantness were measured with a 0-10 numerical rating scale. Social disconnection was measured with a 12-item social disconnection scale. Participants also reported percent pain relief during the tour and program satisfaction in the post-tour survey. Change in pain and social disconnection was analyzed with paired t tests, bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap confidence intervals (BCa CIs), and Cohen's d. Thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with participants explored the feasibility and perceived impact of the program. RESULTS: Fifty-four individuals participated in this study (mean age [SD] = 59 [14.5] years, 64.8% female), and 14 were interviewed. Fifty-seven percent of participants reported pain relief during the tour, with an average pain relief (SD) of 47% (34.61%). Participants reported decreased social disconnection and pain unpleasantness pre- to post-tour (3.65, BCa 95% CI = 1.70-5.73, P < 0.001, d = 0.37; and 0.49, BCa 95% CI = 0.06-0.90, P = 0.016, d = 0.20, respectively). Participants indicated high satisfaction with the program. Interviewees remarked on the isolating impact of chronic pain and how negative experiences with the health care system often compounded this sense of isolation. Participants experienced Art Rx as a positive and inclusive experience, with potential lasting benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Art museum tours for individuals with chronic pain are feasible, and participants reported positive effects on perceived social disconnection and pain.

The prevalence and awareness of sleep apnea in patients suffering chronic pain: an assessment using the STOP-Bang sleep apnea questionnaire.

PURPOSE: Some patient subsets are at higher risk of sleep apnea, including patients with chronic pain. However, it is unclear whether patients and their caregivers are aware of the possibly increased risk of sleep apnea in this population. Chronic pain is often treated with opioids which may decrease both the central respiratory drive and the patency of the upper airway, potentially contributing to this sleep disorder. Using a self-reporting questionnaire approach in the chronic pain population, this study surveyed patient and caregiver awareness surrounding the risk of sleep apnea. In addition, we looked at the influence of opioid therapy on the prevalence of sleep apnea. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients presenting to a pain clinic were invited to participate anonymously in a survey that included the STOP-Bang sleep apnea questionnaire, which assesses patients' knowledge, testing, diagnosis, or treatment of sleep apnea and whether their caregivers had discussed with them their increased risk of sleep apnea and opioid use. RESULTS: Among 305 participating patients, 58.2% (n=173) screened positive for sleep apnea. Among the 202 patients on opioid therapy, 59.2% (116/202) were STOP-Bang positive (score ≥3). However, only 37.5% (n=72/173) of these patients had discussed their risk of sleep apnea with a caregiver and only 30.7% (n=59) underwent testing. Against expectation, opioids did not increase the prevalence of sleep apnea in our study population. CONCLUSION: Chronic pain patients had a high risk of sleep apnea, regardless of opioid prescription. Most patients were unaware of their increased risk and denied undergoing the necessary testing. Greater attention to screening, testing, and education for sleep apnea needs to be paid in chronic pain patients, especially given the potentially dangerous ramifications of opioid-induced sleep apnea.

Advancing Simulation-Based Education in Pain Medicine.

Background: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has recently implemented milestones and competencies as a framework for training fellows in Pain Medicine, but individual programs are left to create educational platforms and assessment tools that meet ACGME standards. Objectives: In this article, we discuss the concept of milestone-based competencies and the inherent challenges for implementation in pain medicine. We consider simulation-based education (SBE) as a potential tool for the field to meet ACGME goals through advancing novel learning opportunities, engaging in clinically relevant scenarios, and mastering technical and nontechnical skills. Results: The sparse literature on SBE in pain medicine is highlighted, and we describe our pilot experience, which exemplifies a nascent effort that encountered early difficulties in implementing and refining an SBE program. Conclusions: The many complexities in offering a sophisticated simulated pain curriculum that is valid, reliable, feasible, and acceptable to learners and teachers may only be overcome with coordinated and collaborative efforts among pain medicine training programs and governing institutions.

Scope and Nature of Pain- and Analgesia-Related Content of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).

Background: "The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two substantial public health challenges-reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can result from the use of opioid medications" [1]. Improved pain education for health care providers is an essential component of the multidimensional response to both still-unmet challenges [2,3]. Despite the importance of licensing examinations in assuring competency in health care providers, there has been no prior appraisal of pain and related content within the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Methods: An expert panel developed a novel methodology for characterizing USMLE questions based on pain core competencies and topical and public health relevance. Results: Under secure conditions, raters used this methodology to score 1,506 questions, with 28.7% (432) identified as including the word "pain." Of these, 232 questions (15.4% of the 1,506 USMLE questions reviewed) were assessed as being fully or partially related to pain, rather than just mentioning pain but not testing knowledge of its mechanisms and their implications for treatment. The large majority of questions related to pain (88%) focused on assessment rather than safe and effective pain management, or the context of pain. Conclusions: This emphasis on assessment misses other important aspects of safe and effective pain management, including those specific to opioid safety. Our findings inform ways to improve the long-term education of our medical and other graduates, thereby improving the health care of the populations they serve.

Risk Management for Opioid Prescribing in the Treatment of Patients With Pain From Cancer or Terminal Illness: Inadvertent Oversight or Taboo?

As the United States experiences an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, and guidelines on safe practices in prescribing opioids in chronic pain have subsequently emerged from professional organizations and governmental agencies, limited guidance exists for prescribers of opioids to treat pain in patients with cancer or terminal illness. Patients with active cancer or terminal illness often have pain and are frequently prescribed opioids and other controlled substances. Current studies suggest that patients with cancer have similar rates of risk for misuse, abuse, and addiction as the general public. Moreover, palliative care and hospice programs appear poorly prepared for assessing or managing patients with aberrant behaviors or evidence of drug abuse. Further research and professional consensus are needed to help address the challenges associated with misuse, abuse, and addiction in patients with cancer and terminal illness.