Chronic Pain and Pain Management in Older Adults: Protocol and Pilot Results.
Lisa R LaRowe, Christine Miaskowski, Angela Miller and 6 others
PMID 37582291WHAT IT FOUND
A large survey of older adults with chronic pain found they reported worse physical function, cognition, and quality of life than those without pain.
The study protocol is feasible, but results are from a pilot, not the main trial.
Key findings
01In the pilot, older adults with chronic pain reported lower physical function, poorer cognitive functioning, and poorer physical and mental quality of life compared to those without chronic pain.
02The pilot sample was predominantly White and well-educated, which led the researchers to adopt additional strategies to increase diversity in the main study.
03The main study will follow a nationally representative sample of older adults over 12 months to examine how pain characteristics and management strategies affect patient-reported outcomes.
04Among pilot participants with chronic pain, over-the-counter pain relievers were the most common treatment (86.0%), followed by massage (35.7%) and physical, rehabilitative, or occupational therapy (30.2%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The results presented are from a pilot study of 123 people, not the main trial. The main study is planned but not yet conducted. The pilot sample was predominantly White and well-educated, limiting the generalizability of the pilot findings to more diverse populations. The study relies entirely on self-report data, which cannot capture every facet of chronic pain or verify medication adherence. Attrition is expected (25% between Wave 1 and 2, 15% between Wave 2 and 3), which may introduce bias if dropouts differ from completers.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (N.I.H. Extramural).
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the pilot findings as results from the main study. The differences in function and quality of life are from a small, non-representative sample of 123 people, not the planned 1,888-participant trial. The main study's longitudinal results are not yet available.