Pain Management Process Improvement Project
Process improvement in nursing homes improves quality of life and quality of care for patients in long-term care settings. Process improvement identifies areas in need of improvement within the nursing home, seeks information on current practices and systems, and addresses problems in systems or processes. Federal law requires skilled nursing facilities implement process improvement plans to correct deficient practices (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014). According to data gathered during the Minimum Data Set (MDS) process, Lone Tree Convalescent Hospital has a high prevalence of short-stay residents that self-reported moderate to severe pain. The author gathered data regarding pain assessment …show more content…
The search phrases pain management in long-term care, pain management in skilled nursing facilities, and pain management in nursing homes. The literature agrees that pain management is an issue in long-term care facilities. The author selected three journal articles for in depth review. The first article states that pain prevalence in long-term care in as high as 80% and describes pain in long-term care resident as inadequately managed. The article suggests ongoing education as a potential solution to the problem. The research described in the article attempts to identify educational needs of caregivers related to pain management. Educational needs identified included pain assessment, pain physiology, pain treatments/interventions, and distinguishing pain related behaviors (Tousignant-Laflamme, Tousignant, Lussier, Lebel, Savoie, Lalonde & Choinière, 2012). The second article was about a qualitative study directed toward identifying barriers to effective pain management in long-term care. The study identified three types of barriers: patient related, caregiver related, and system related. Patient related barriers included cognitive impairment, reluctance of patients to report pain, and resistance to medication administration. Caregiver related barriers included insensitivity to patient pain and a lack of knowledge about pain and management. System related barriers included poor team function, lack of communication, poor documentation, and insufficient time. The study also generated information on pain management facilitators. Facilitators included caregiver knowledge of patients, caregiver compassion, family support, and teamwork (Fox, Solomon, Raina & Jadad, 2004). The third article was directed toward both exploring barriers to effective pain management in long-term care, and development of methods to improve pain management. The barriers to effective pain management were similar to the
Process improvement in nursing homes improves quality of life and quality of care for patients in long-term care settings. Process improvement identifies areas in need of improvement within the nursing home, seeks information on current practices and systems, and addresses problems in systems or processes. Federal law requires skilled nursing facilities implement process improvement plans to correct deficient practices (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014). According to data gathered during the Minimum Data Set (MDS) process, Lone Tree Convalescent Hospital has a high prevalence of short-stay residents that self-reported moderate to severe pain. The author gathered data regarding pain assessment …show more content…
The search phrases pain management in long-term care, pain management in skilled nursing facilities, and pain management in nursing homes. The literature agrees that pain management is an issue in long-term care facilities. The author selected three journal articles for in depth review. The first article states that pain prevalence in long-term care in as high as 80% and describes pain in long-term care resident as inadequately managed. The article suggests ongoing education as a potential solution to the problem. The research described in the article attempts to identify educational needs of caregivers related to pain management. Educational needs identified included pain assessment, pain physiology, pain treatments/interventions, and distinguishing pain related behaviors (Tousignant-Laflamme, Tousignant, Lussier, Lebel, Savoie, Lalonde & Choinière, 2012). The second article was about a qualitative study directed toward identifying barriers to effective pain management in long-term care. The study identified three types of barriers: patient related, caregiver related, and system related. Patient related barriers included cognitive impairment, reluctance of patients to report pain, and resistance to medication administration. Caregiver related barriers included insensitivity to patient pain and a lack of knowledge about pain and management. System related barriers included poor team function, lack of communication, poor documentation, and insufficient time. The study also generated information on pain management facilitators. Facilitators included caregiver knowledge of patients, caregiver compassion, family support, and teamwork (Fox, Solomon, Raina & Jadad, 2004). The third article was directed toward both exploring barriers to effective pain management in long-term care, and development of methods to improve pain management. The barriers to effective pain management were similar to the