“It only hurts when I move” - The multidimensionality of pain in nursing home residents - Poster Session 7250

Q: Why is pain assessment critical in nursing home residents with cognitive impairment?

Self-report can become unreliable as cognitive deficits progress, so staff need effective pain assessment to guide care.

Q: What two conditions were compared to examine pain variability?

Pain was assessed at rest and after everyday movement such as walking, repositioning, or range of motion.

Q: How did pain scores differ between post-movement and rest?

Residents showed significantly more pain symptoms post-movement than at rest across both assessment tools, indicating pain levels change with daily activity.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood

Nursing home residents often experience chronic pain alongside worsening cognitive deficits, making staff-administered assessment essential as self-report becomes unreliable. This poster studies variability in pain attributable to internal and external factors by comparing resident pain levels in two conditions: at rest and after everyday movement. Data come from 103 residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairment, assessed weekly for 1–10 weeks using the Abbey Pain Scale and the PainChek tool.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Study design and participants

Assessment tools and procedures

Results and implications

SESSION 7250 (POSTER) LONG TERM CARE I Abstract citation ID: igaf122.2683 “IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I MOVE”: THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF PAIN IN NURSING HOME RESIDENTS Orah Burack1, Wingyun Mak2, Kreshnik Hoti3, Jeff Hughes3, and Kimberly Bergen-Jackson4, 1. The New Jewish Home, Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 791 New York, New York, United States, 2. The New Jewish Home Research Institute on Aging, New York, New York, United States, 3. PainChek, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 4. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States Nursing home (NH) residents often experience chronic pain and increasing cognitive deficits. In such cases effective pain assessment by staff is critical as resident self-report becomes unreliable. A consideration for staff is recognizing variability in pain due to internal and external factors. Predictable changes in pain could then be leveraged to facilitate treatment. This study examined differences in NH residents’ pain in two conditions,(1) at rest and (2) after everyday type movement. Subjects were 103 NH residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairment. Ages ranged from 64 to 107 years, 29% were males; 19% Hispanic; 54% White, 29% Black, and 17% race unknown. Ninety-five percent had chronic pain, and 85% took pain medication. Participants were assessed weekly for pain under two conditions: at rest and post-movement (walking, repositioning, or range of motion) by two raters independently, one administering the Abbey Pain Scale (APS) (0-18) and one the PainChek® tool (0-42) . Higher scores indicated more pain. Order of conditions was randomly assigned per assessment. Subjects participated from one to ten weeks for a total of 552 assessments. Residents displayed significantly more pain symptoms post-movement than at rest (p < .0001) regardless of assessment tool or condition order (APS: post-movement M =4.7 (SD=2.91), at rest M = 2.9 (SD = 1.82); PainChek®: post-movement M = 8.2 (SD = 3.92), at-rest M = 5.8 (SD = 2.71)). Results suggest that pain levels are dynamic depending on daily activities. Determining treatment should incorporate pain assessments across different conditions. Ways to maximize the benefits of assessing pain under variable conditions will be discussed.

FAQs

Why is pain assessment critical in nursing home residents with cognitive impairment?

Self-report can become unreliable as cognitive deficits progress, so staff need effective pain assessment to guide care.

What two conditions were compared to examine pain variability?

Pain was assessed at rest and after everyday movement such as walking, repositioning, or range of motion.

How did pain scores differ between post-movement and rest?

Residents showed significantly more pain symptoms post-movement than at rest across both assessment tools, indicating pain levels change with daily activity.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood