Completed Research Project
Palliative care approaches for pain management education among care assistants in residential aged care hostels: A feasibility study
Investigators: Oldham
L,
Toye C, Kristjanson
LJ, Rees N, Walker H, Ellis I & Flux H.
Funding: National Health and Medical Research
Council Palliative Care Grant ($25,000)
Administering institution: Edith Cowan University
Abstract: This project sought to develop a pain management education program for care assistants in residential aged care facilities, pilot test and refine outcome measures that could be used in evaluating the education program, and assess the feasibility of testing the program using a subsequent randomised controlled study design.
Three rounds of focus groups were conducted in two metropolitan and one rural hostel. A total of 27 care assistants participated. Findings suggest that care assistants have numerous problems associated with pain management in the hostel setting that included lack of knowledge and information about pain types and assessment, difficulty managing the range of pain types experienced by residents and difficulty in assessing and managing spiritual pain. Several educational strategies were identified by the participants in particular the use of a video that demonstrated pain assessment and management techniques. Communication issues within the team were identified as the most difficult barrier to learning about pain management. Overall, the findings from this study have provided the content for a pain education program for care assistants in the hostel setting, evaluated the cost of producing the education program and pilot tested outcome measures that could be used to evaluate the education program.
