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      Pain Prevalence, Experiences, and Self-Care Management Strategies Among the Community-Dwelling Elderly in Taiwan

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      Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
      Elsevier BV

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          Abstract

          The purpose of this study was to explore pain prevalence, experiences, and self-care management strategies among community-dwelling elderly in Taiwan. A convenience sample of elderly persons (n=1054) was recruited from outpatient clinics of two hospitals in northern Taiwan. Participants' pain prevalence was 50.0%, and the average number of pain sites was 3.9 (standard deviation [SD]=5.8). Knees were the most commonly described pain site, but the most painful site was the spinal cord area. The mean pain intensity was 3.1 (SD=1.8) and pain interference was 2.8 (SD=2.1). Most participants took prescribed medications to deal with pain; doctors were the main information source for this self-care strategy. Although participants reported using various self-care pain management strategies, most still reported moderate-to-severe worst pain. Moreover, our participants identified far fewer self-care strategies than U.S. elders with chronic pain. These findings suggest that community-dwelling elders in Taiwan know little about managing pain symptoms or ascribe a different meaning to pain than their U.S. counterparts. Because health care providers play an important role in helping the elderly to manage pain, the authors recommend training health care providers about Taiwanese elders' perceptions of pain, to perform regular pain assessments, and provide current knowledge about pain assessment and pain management strategies.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
          Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
          Elsevier BV
          08853924
          October 2010
          October 2010
          : 40
          : 4
          : 575-581
          Article
          10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.02.013
          20678896
          bfd1970c-d19e-40fb-9a30-05c0000f3cce
          © 2010

          https://www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/

          http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/

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