Impact of Pain on Family Members and Caregivers of Geriatric Patients

Riffin, Catherine; Fried, Terri R.; Pillemer, Karl

doi:10.1016/j.cger.2016.06.010

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Pain is associated with poor quality of life (Snow et al, 2009; Torvik et al, 2010), emotional disturbance (Bair et al, 2003; Boakye et al, 2016), social withdrawal (Mellado et al, 2016; Smith, 2017), sleep impairments (Boakye et al, 2016), and increased health service use (Gaskin & Richard, 2012). Its effects extend beyond the individual, exacting a toll on family relationships (Riffin et al, 2016; West et al, 2012) and on caregivers’ physical and emotional well-being (Martire et al, 2019; Nah et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregiver–provider communication about pain in persons with dementia

et al. 2021

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Background Pain in older persons with dementia is both under-detected and under-managed. Family caregivers can play an important role in addressing these deficiencies by communicating their care recipient’s symptoms and behaviors to medical providers, but little is known about how caregivers and providers approach pain-related discussions in the context of dementia. The goal of this study was to explore how ambulatory care providers and family caregivers of persons with dementia view pain communication. Methods In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with family caregivers ( n = 18) and healthcare providers involved in dementia care ( n = 16). Interviews focused on three specific content areas: (1) caregivers’ roles in communicating about pain in persons with dementia, (2) challenges experienced when communicating about pain in persons with dementia, and (3) strategies and recommendations for optimizing communication in this context. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the constant comparative method of data analysis. Results Caregivers and providers described various roles that caregivers assumed in communication processes, such as serving as historians, interpreters, and advocates. They identified two key features of problematic communication—receipt of inadequate information and interpersonal conflict about the care recipient’s pain—and articulated how ambiguity around pain and dementia, as well as preexisting beliefs and emotions, contributed to communication challenges. They also offered several suggestions to improve caregiver–provider communication processes, including the use of (1) written records to enhance the accuracy of caregivers’ reports and ensure that providers had specific information to inform symptom management and treatment plans, (2) pain scales and follow-up discussions to establish baseline data and clarify treatment recommendations, and (3) collaboration and rapport-building strategies to validate the caregivers’ contributions and maximize a team-based decision-making. Conclusion Receipt of inadequate information and interpersonal conflict are key challenges to caregiver–provider communication regarding pain in persons with dementia. Written records, pain scales, and rapport-building strategies may help to address these challenges.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregiver–provider communication about pain in persons with dementia

et al. 2021

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“…As research has repeatedly shown [ 47 – 51 ], the expression of chronic pain often has a negative impact on family members, especially if they do not know what information to retain or how to react to it. Nevertheless, even if chronic pain often has a deleterious effect on familial relationships [ 52 ], talking about it with specific family members can be an opportunity to strengthen interpersonal relations [ 53 ] and to find social support to live with chronic pain in everyday life [ 54 ]. The selection of specific interlocutors leads to a division of labor in the social network [ 55 ]: the communication about chronic pain with direct relatives is usually motivated both by their ability to provide practical help and to be emotionally supportive.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Talking about chronic pain in family settings: a glimpse of older persons’ everyday realities

et al. 2022

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Background The expression of chronic pain remains a delicate matter for those older persons who suffer from this condition. If many studies highlight the difficulties of putting pain into words, scarce are those that take into account how given social networks can facilitate or prevent its expression. Based on a qualitative study that explores the communication about chronic pain in older persons’ social network, this article reports on this key issue of talking about health in later life within family settings and provides clinicians with information about the way older persons with chronic conditions perceive their everyday realities and social relations. Methods A multidisciplinary research team (medicine, linguistics and psychology) interviewed 49 persons with chronic pain, all from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, aged 75 and older, without any major cognitive or auditory impairments. After transcription, the interviews were analyzed by combining content and discourse analysis with social network theories. Results Communication about chronic pain depends significantly on the position of the interlocutors within the family structure, with a preference for direct relatives or individuals with similar difficulties. In social networks, the ability to communicate about chronic pain is both a resource (by allowing older persons to get help or by strengthening interpersonal relations) and a challenge (by threatening their autonomy, social relations or self-esteem). Conclusions The study shows the predominance of the nuclear family (partner, children) in communication relating specifically to the everyday management of chronic pain. This state of affairs is, nevertheless, balanced by issues of (loss of) autonomy. These findings, in line with current trends in geriatrics, could benefit future reflections on the scope and limits of including relatives in the care of older patients with chronic conditions.

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“…Additionally, husbands’ pain could lead to marital problems that heighten wives’ psychological distress. Pain behaviors are reciprocally related to aversive spousal interactions, which can result in marital conflict, diminished emotional closeness and intimacy, and the eventual erosion of partner support [37,60]. People with severe pain also commonly withdraw from their marriage and other important social ties in ways that may strain these relationships and amplify the emotional consequences of pain [73].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Own and partner pain intensity in older couples: longitudinal effects on depressive symptoms

Polenick

Brooks

Birditt

2017

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Chronic pain has been linked to depression among individuals and their partners. Yet, little is known about long-term mutual influences between pain intensity and depressive symptoms within couples as they age. Using a nationally representative U.S. sample of wives and husbands aged 50 and older (mean = 64.53, SD = 7.86), this study explored the links between own and partner pain intensity and depressive symptoms across an 8-year period. A total of 963 heterosexual married couples drawn from the Health and Retirement Study completed interviews biennially from 2006 to 2014. Dyadic growth curve models examined mutual associations within couples and controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, length of marriage, and marital quality, along with self-rated health, number of chronic health conditions, and functional disability. For wives and husbands, their own greater baseline pain intensity was significantly linked to their own higher levels of depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, wives with greater baseline pain intensity reported decreases in their depressive symptoms over time. There were also partner effects such that husbands’ greater pain intensity at baseline was associated with increases in wives’ depressive symptoms over time. Findings highlight the importance of considering both individual and spousal associations between pain intensity and depressive symptoms in later life. Understanding how individual and couple processes unfold may yield critical insights for the development of intervention and prevention efforts to maintain mental health among older chronic pain patients and their spouses.

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Impact of Pain on Family Members and Caregivers of Geriatric Patients

Cited by 19 publications

References 82 publications

Caregiver–provider communication about pain in persons with dementia

Caregiver–provider communication about pain in persons with dementia

Talking about chronic pain in family settings: a glimpse of older persons’ everyday realities

Own and partner pain intensity in older couples: longitudinal effects on depressive symptoms

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