March 2007
In
this issue…
Patient
Pain Management Education Continues at ACS Hope Lodge
SCPI
Members Discuss Pain Survey Questions
Data
on Dying and End-of-Life Care
Patient
Pain Management Education Continues at ACS Hope Lodge
On March 15th Tamara Bowman, Professional Education Committee Chair, presented pain management information to cancer patients and caregivers at the Hope Lodge Downtown Charleston. This was the second pain educational presentation at the facility. The pain talk included teaching patients to advocate for themselves with healthcare professionals and basic pain assessment information. The Hope Lodge invited Tamara and the SCPI to continue pain talks quarterly. The next presentation will take place in late spring or early summer and will be announced in the next newsletter.
SCPI
Members Discuss Pain Survey Questions
In May the SCPI will submit questions which will be included in the USC Institute of Public Affairs State Survey. This is a state-wide, random telephone survey that is conducted twice a year and includes questions submitted by a multitude of organizations. It was decided on the planning call that the questions will ask about incidence of households experiencing chronic pain, satisfaction with pain treatment, barriers to pain treatment, and the effect of pain on a person’s quality of life. The results of the survey will help the SCPI communicate to the public the pain problem within our state and will help in defining other goals and objectives of the public awareness campaign.
Volunteers
Needed
Each committee group, Professional Education, Public Awareness and Advocacy has opportunities available for volunteer projects. Projects for the year include development of a speakers bureau, planning and implementation of the Pain Congress, and web-based pain education programming. To submit your name for a particular committee or project, please contact Shannon Johnson.
Data
on Dying and End-of-Life Care
Epidemiology of Dying and End-of-Life Expereince (EDELE) is a project of The Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. The EDELE website is an on-line, searchable catalogue of links to hundreds of web pages providing data about the experience of end of life care and includes: demographics of the deceased person and his/her family, use of healthcare services in the last year of life, and outcomes and satisfaction with care. edeledate.org includes multiple search strategies and is an excellent tool for healthcare providers, advocacy organizations, health services researchers and state policy makers. EDELE is funded by the US Administration on Aging.
New
Pain and Dementia Tool-Kit Available
The
Resource Center of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives (ASPI) is
dedicated to improving pain management nationwide by developing programs
and educational resources to positively influence health care systems, the
regulatory climate and the culture at large. The center has announced the
release of a new educational tool for 
detecting
pain in patients with dementia. “Detecting
Discomfort in Dementia: Focus on Behaviors—What
Nursing Assistants Need to Know About Pain,” The 13-minute
educational video and the accompanying booklet, “Tools for Inservice
Education” provide the necessary information to help nursing assistants
understand the role they play in practicing good care for cognitively
impaired residents in pain. The video was filmed in several long-term care
facilities and shows examples of residents’ discomfort behaviors and
nursing assistants’ interventions to provide and advocate for comfort.
After using these educational tools, nursing assistants will be able to
identify the behaviors that cognitively impaired residents may show when
in pain or discomfort and understand the ways they can help cognitively
impaired residents get relief for their pain.
Half
of all nursing home residents have pain that is severe enough to interfere
with their daily activities and quality of life. Many of these residents
are cognitively impaired because of dementia or other memory problems, and
may not be able to use words to communicate about their pain. Instead,
they may show their pain or discomfort through their behaviors. Nursing
assistants, who provide most of their care, may be the first to notice the
behaviors that signal a problem with pain.
For information on how to order “Detecting Discomfort in Dementia: Focus on Behaviors,” please visit the ASPI Web site or call: (608) 262-0978. The cost for the DVD and Training Booklet is $49.99.
Upcoming
Events
May
11
Columbia,
SC
Alliance
of State Pain Initiative Annual Conference
June
21–23
Boston,
MA
Again, please check out the SCPI webpage and consider saving this link to your Favorites so that we can keep you updated on the latest news, events and resources in Pain Management.
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