A geriatric assessment in general practice: prevalence, location, impact and doctor-patient perceptions of pain
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND To investigate what a geriatric assessment in general practice adds towards previous findings of prevalence, location, impact and the dyadic doctor-patient perception of pain in this age group. METHODS Cross-sectional study. Consecutive patients aged 70 and over underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment in general practice that included a basic pain assessment (severity, sites and impact). Patients with pain and their doctors then independently rated its importance. Pain was correlated with further findings from the assessment, such as overall health, physical impairments, everyday function, falls, mood, health related lifestyle, social circumstances, using bivariate and multivariate statistics. Patient-doctor agreement on the importance of pain was calculated using kappa statistics. RESULTS 219 out of 297 patients (73.7 %) reported pain at any location. Pain was generally located at multiple sites. It was most often present at the knee (33.9%), the lumbar spine (33.5%) as well as the hip (13.8%) and correlated with specific impairments such as restrictions of daily living (knee) or sleep problems (spine). Patients with pain and their physicians poorly agreed on the importance of the pain problem. CONCLUSIONS A basic pain assessment can identify older patients with pain in general practice. It has resulted in a high prevalence exceeding that determined by encounters in consultations. It has been shown that a geriatric assessment provides an opportunity to address pain in a way that is adapted to older patients' needs - addressing all sites, its specific impact on life, and the patients' perceived importance of pain. Since there is little doctor-patient agreement, this seems a valuable strategy to optimize concrete treatment decisions and patient centered care. TRIAL REGISTRATION This study is registered in the German Clinical Trial Register ( DRKS00000792 ).
منابع مشابه
The Impact of Empathy Training Workshops on Empathic Practice of Family Physicians of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences
Introduction: Empathy is a component of patient care. There is general agreement that empathy is crucial in physician-patient relationship and thus an important issue in medical education. We tested whether an empathy training workshop for family physicians could improve their empathic practice rated by patients. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test study and was performed...
متن کاملAssessment of Decisional Conflict about the Treatment of Trigger Finger, Comparing Patients and Physicians
Background: As an early step in the development of a decision aid for idiopathic trigger finger (TF) we were interested in the level of decisional conflict experienced by patients and hand surgeons. This study tested the null hypothesis that there is no difference in decisional conflict between patients with one or more idiopathic trigger fingers and hand surgeons. Secondary analyses address ...
متن کاملPrevalence of Serologic Markers of Hepatitis B and C and Risk Factors among Dentists and Physicians in Kerman, Iran
In this cross sectional anonymous study, blood samples of 285 dentists and Physicians were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag), hepatitis B envelope Ag (HBe Ag), antibodies to: hepatitis B suface (anti-HBs), hepatitis B core Ag (anti-HBc) and hepatitis B envelope Ag (anti-HBe) by ELISA-3 and antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) by ELISA-3 and immunoblotting tests. The results su...
متن کاملPain Management Perceptions of the Neonatal Nurses in NICUs and Neonatal Units in Ardebil, Iran
Background: This study aimed to determine neonatal nurses’ perceptions of knowledge and practice in pain management in NICUs & neonatal units. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. A total of 120 neonatal nurses who working in NICUs & neonatal units in Ardebil province, Iran were selected using the convenience sampling technique. A questionnaire of Nurses’ Perceptions of...
متن کاملThe value of a comprehensive geriatric assessment for patient care in acutely hospitalized older patients with cancer.
INTRODUCTION A comprehensive geriatric assessment systematically collects information on geriatric conditions and is propagated in oncology as a useful tool when assessing older cancer patients. OBJECTIVES The objectives were: (a) to study the prevalence of geriatric conditions in cancer patients aged ≥ 65 years, acutely admitted to a general medicine ward; (b) to determine functional decline...
متن کامل