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An article in The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine looked to see if rehabilitation is useful in “improving the quality of life by palliating function, mobility, activities of daily living, pain relief, endurance, and the psyche of the patient.” In this review article, the researchers focused on several rehabilitation interventions for patients with late stage illness. They concluded that “rehabilitation services are underutilized in the palliative care setting, and more research is needed to address how patients may benefit.” Click here to access full article

In a recent study published in Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, a group of investigators sought to “identify fall predictors in elderly suffering from chronic pain (CP) and to test their applicability among patients with other chronic conditions.” Monitoring 1,379 patients 65 years and older suffering from chronic pain; socio-demographic, clinical and pain data and medications were assessed for association with falls in the year after. The results showed that “fall history, dependency in daily activities, age ≥75 and living alone are independent fall predictors in CP.” Click here to access full article

Drs. Cary Reid and Karl Pillemer (TRIPLL's co-directors) and their research team recently published an article in BMJ which sought to identify several "recent evidence on the assessment and management of pain in older patients.” Taking evidence from systematic reviews, meta-analyses, individual trials and clinical guidelines, the paper looks at the several management and drug interventions along with evaluating drug or non-drug treatments. They concluded that, “given low rates of use of many non-drug management approaches in older patients, encouraging engagement in and adoption of these modalities, to include cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise is particularly recommended.” Click here to access [...]

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Office of Pain Policy recently developed an infographic on Disparities in Pain Care. The infographic features a number of factors that contribute to disparities in pain care and treatment drawn from evidence-based research. Some areas of interest included socioeconomic status, language barriers, bias in pain treatment, and access to care. Visit the NIH Pain Consortium site to learn more

A recent study conducted by Dr. Mary Morrissey (A TRIPLL Pilot Awardee) and her team examined the relationship between pain and chronic illnesses in older adults, ages 50 and above. The study evaluated longitudinal survey data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study consisting of a sample of 21,902 individuals. The authors found, "positive associations between pain and chronic diseases, pain and multimorbidity, as well as an inverse association between pain and education." The study concluded that an increase in palliative social work roles to relieve pain amongst older adults at all stages of chronic illnesses is imperative. Click [...]

The authors of a published article in The Clinical Journal of Pain sought to identify factors associated with persistent chronic pain among community-dwelling older persons. This prospective longitudinal study sampled 256 people aged 76 years and older to collect data on “prevalence, duration, location, and intensity of musculoskeletal pain, analgesic use, demographics, and health characteristics.” The authors concluded that persistent chronic pain “is related to poor health and mobility issues. In addition, the use of daily analgesic is low despite the continuous nature of chronic pain.” Click here to access full article

The journal Pain recently featured a report by a group of authors in Sweden who sought to "quantify the societal cost of chronic pain in people 65 years old and older to assess the impact of chronic pain on quality of life." The authors collected data from three registers and sent a postal questionnaire to a stratified sample in southeastern Sweden. The authors found an association between "resource use and severity of chronic pain in elderly subjects: the more severe the chronic pain, the more extensive (and expensive) the use of resources." Click here to access full article

The author of a recent paper published in the Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy examined the importance of integrating pain management and palliative care. Using a case report in the journal, the author identifies "the use of indwelling catheters for continuous interscalene blocks in cancer pain management as an example of why these two medical subspecialties need improved collaboration and integration." The author concludes that tighter integration between the two subspecialties can significantly benefit, “patients living, and dying, with cancer.” Click here to access full article

A recent study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry aimed to see if there is a relationship between pain in stroke patients and its emotional distress (ED) and social engagement (SE). The study enrolled 274 chronic stroke patients in nursing homes; interviews were conducted and filled out with nurse assistants. The authors found that, "Pain is a serious and multidimensional problem among institutionalized stroke patients," and concluded that pain is related to increased ED and SE as an indicator of social vulnerability. Click here to access full article

A team of TRIPLL Investigators and affiliates, including Cary Reid, TRIPLL's director and Jamie Guillory, Pamara Chang, Chuck Henderson and Geri Gay, recently published an article in The Clinical Journal of Pain which sought to, "examine the preliminary effects of a SMS text message-based social support intervention for reducing daily pain interference levels, improving affect and perceptions of social support in patients with chronic non-cancer pain." The authors enrolled 68 participants who downloaded a pain tracking app to their smartphones and used it to record daily pain scores. Additional social support text messages were delivered to participants in the intervention group. [...]