Pain assessment tools: Identifying pain in residents who can't communicate their discomfort

Older adults, who often have multiple medical conditions, can sometimes encounter challenges when expressing their discomfort and agony to carers, and pain, coupled with the loss of communication skills, can lead to further difficulties.  

When residents can't vocalise and self-report their pain, it can go undetected and untreated. Effective identification, assessment and management of pain is crucial; otherwise, it can cause distress to the individual, depression and anxiety, impact their physical and mental wellbeing, or lead to additional health problems.

In cases where residents are experiencing pain but have difficulty communicating, which can result from dementia, a learning disability, or other conditions that can interfere with communication, it's important for care providers to utilise pain assessment tools. Assessment of pain is a critical step to providing good pain management, and managing pain is integral to improving quality of life. 

By utilising pain assessment tools, care providers can better understand the pain experienced by residents and provide appropriate treatment. Successfully managing the pain residents experience is a key component of their recovery.