Abstract
Developing educational interventions about pain may lead to improved pain management
for older people. A public group educational session, entitled “Pain in the Older
Person,” was presented in 7 cities across Canada (Vancouver, Calgary, London, Toronto,
Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax). The presentation lasted approximately 90 minutes and
was followed by a question and answer period of at least 20 minutes. Prior to the
educational session, participants provided demographic data and completed measures
of pain intensity, frequency, interference, and treatment; of subjective health; and
of knowledge about pain. Following the session, participants completed the same knowledge
items again as well as items assessing satisfaction. Data were provided by 54 health
care workers (HCW) and 54 older community members (66.3 ± 10.2 years old). Prior to
the educational session, knowledge gaps were evident among the older community members,
especially about analgesic use. Among the HCW, knowledge gaps were found about addiction
and the relationship between pain and aging. Comparison of knowledge scores before
and after the educational session revealed that both groups demonstrated significant
knowledge gains. Satisfaction scores were very high, with no significant difference
between HCW and older community members. This is the first study to show that a brief
educational intervention is associated with gains in knowledge about pain and aging
among both older community members and HCW. These results suggest that a brief public
educational session is a promising method of pain education that may reduce barriers
to pain management in older people.
Perspective
This article describes the results of a brief public educational session about pain
and aging attended by older members of the community and health care workers. This
intervention could potentially improve pain management for older people.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 30, 2012
Accepted:
May 24,
2012
Received in revised form:
April 17,
2012
Received:
September 9,
2011
Footnotes
Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Merck Frosst Canada to L.G. L.G. was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award, and L.K. was supported by a University of Toronto Institute of Medical Science Award.
There are no conflicts of interest to declare.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
