Abstract

Assisted living (AL) is a growing lifestyle choice option available to the ailing aged in the United States. Increases in chronic disease may predispose this population to acute and chronic pain due to increased longevity with medical advances. The elderly populations in these facilities are frail with multiple chronic illnesses and cognitive and/or functional impairment adding to the difficulty in effective pain management practices. The burden of providing pain management in AL is on the nursing assistant whose education and scope of practice may not include performing pain assessment that impact resident quality of life and outcomes. Continuing education in pain management in AL settings may improve the ability of unlicensed staff members to provide pain management strategies to meet best practice guidelines. This project identifies nursing assistants' knowledge of pain management after receiving education in pain management. A single group pre-post test design using the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN) and Frommelt's Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD) measured the effect of a pain management educational intervention. Results support the need for pain management continuing education for nursing assistants caring for residents in AL.

Author Details

Pamela G. Wisor, DNP, MSN Ed, BSN, RN

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice

Keywords:

Pain Management, Assisted Living, Nursing Assistants, Continuing Education in Nursing

Advisor

Lydia L. Forsythe

Second Advisor

Marylee Bressie

Third Advisor

Dorothea Owens

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Capella University

Degree Year

2016

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Date of Issue

2016-12-22

Full Text of Presentation

wf_yes

Download

Share

COinS