https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3132-3801
Abstract
Purpose
The high prevalence of chronic pain and difficulties in pain management in older people are challenging for healthcare providers globally. Patient satisfaction regarding pain management is one of the measures to assess efficacy of pain control as well as healthcare services. Thus, our study aimed to evaluate the older patients’ satisfaction with pain management and its associated factors in Vietnam.
Patients and Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted at National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam from May to October 2018. Face-to-face interviews were conducted on 495 older patients with chronic pain by using a structured questionnaire. The Pain Treatment Satisfaction Scale (PTSS) was used to assess the level of satisfaction with pain management. A Tobit regression model was used to estimate factors associated with satisfaction toward pain management.
Results
The mean total satisfaction score was 1.77 (SD= 0.22). Older patients were most satisfied with the aspect of side effects of pain relief medication (mean=0.66, SD=0.56). On the contrary, they were most dissatisfied with information provided about pain and its treatment and efficacy of pain relief medication. Outpatients were less satisfied with information provided, the impact of current medication and pain management in general compared to inpatients. The regression model showed that patients with severe pain tended to be more dissatisfied with pain management than those with no pain.
Conclusion
This study indicated that the general satisfaction with chronic pain management in older patients was quite good especially in the aspect of pain medication’s side effects. However, dissatisfactory factors remained, including information provided about pain and efficacy of current pain medication. Intensive training regarding pain in geriatric care, health education communication for older people, and improved quality of medical services should be performed to ensure the quality of pain management, especially in the older population.
Abbreviations
PTSS, Pain Treatment Satisfaction Scale (PTSS); REDCap, Research Electronic Data Capture.
Data Sharing Statement
The datasets of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Ethics Approval and Informed Consent
The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the National Geriatric Hospital Review Board, (Reference Number: 635/IRB-NGH). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. This study complied with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Acknowledgment
We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the great support of Ms Anh Lan Nguyen, National Geriatric Hospital, Hanoi, Vietnam during research implementation.
Author Contributions
All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The author reports no potential conflicts of interest in this work.