Interdisciplinary Approaches to Managing Pain in Older Adults

An interdisciplinary approach to managing pain has been widely used in managing specific pain conditions (eg, lower back and fibromyalgia) but not reviewed specifically for older adults. Interdisciplinary approaches have been used in primary, residential long-term, and acute care settings, where a variety of health care professionals work on pain teams to manage pain in older adults. Given the multidimensional nature of pain in older adults, interdisciplinary approaches to managing pain are recommended in practice. This article reviews the rationale supporting an interdisciplinary approach to managing pain in older adults and summarizes studies that have evaluated this approach.