Nurses’ Certainty and Pain Outcomes of Nursing Home Residents with Dementia: The Mediating Effect of Pain Assessment

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to examine the associations of pain assessment scope, nurses’ certainty, patient outcomes, and cognitive and verbal characteristics of nursing home (NH) residents. Methods: This study used a descriptive correlational design and a convenience sample of 78 NH residents with dementia. Results: There are significant associations between the severity of dementia and the ability to self report symptoms in NH residents and nurses’ certainty of pain. Also, pain assessment scope does not mediate the relationship between nurses’ certainty and patient outcomes. Conclusion: Pain assessment in NH residents with dementia is very challenging for nurses due to multiple complex factors. Improved understanding of pain assessment in those residents and how it relates to certainty of pain and patient outcomes are crucial.

Keywords::

• nurses’ certainty
• nursing homes
• pain assessment
• people with dementia

Acknowledgments

The authors want to thank Kovach for her help and guidance throughout this study.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained approval from the Institutional Review Board of the Jordan University of Science and Technology, and the designated Institutional Review Board for each Nursing Home involved. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved. The power of attorney was used to provide written consent for those nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia (Mini Mental Status Exam <18).