Guidance on the management of pain in older people

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Executive summary

This guidance document reviews the epidemiology and management of pain in older people via a literature review of published research. The aim of this document is to inform health professionals in any care setting who work with older adults on best practice for the management of pain and to identify where there are gaps in the evidence that require further research.

The assessment of pain in older people has not been covered within this guidance and can be found in a separate document (http://www.britishpainsociety.org/pub_professional.htm#assessmentpop).

Substantial differences in the population, methods and definitions used in published research makes it difficult to compare across studies and impossible to determine the definitive prevalence of pain in older people. There are inconsistencies within the literature as to whether or not pain increases or decreases in this age group, and whether this is influenced by gender. There is, however, some evidence that the prevalence of pain is higher within residential care settings.