Original Research: The Impact of COVID-19 on Pain Care Among Older Adults.
Am J Nurs
; 123(6): 26-36, 2023 06 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2313147
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
In this qualitative descriptive study, we sought to understand the professional experiences and perceptions of pain management nurses who cared for older adults in the United States during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
Data were collected between July 2020 and July 2021 through individual, semistructured interviews with a nonprobability sample of 18 pain management nurses. An inductive content analysis approach, in which categories were derived from a coding process based on a close reading of data extracts from the interview transcripts, was used to reveal the major theme related to the study aim.RESULTS:
Notwithstanding the variable consequences of COVID-19 on patients' health, a single overarching theme was pronounced "Pain management for older adults remained unchanged during the pandemic despite unpredictable survival, restrictions on human interactions, and communication challenges." This theme was supported by four categories that emerged from the data unpredictable survival, restriction-induced isolation, perceived continuity and equality of pain management, and communication challenges.CONCLUSIONS:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pain management nurses stepped in and joined interdisciplinary teams providing general and specialized pain care to ensure that older adults, whether inpatient or outpatient, continued to receive quality care. These study findings highlight the many challenges pain management nurses faced during this unprecedented public health crisis, as well as opportunities to improve the health system and enhance nursing practice to meet the needs of older patients.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Nurs
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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