Pain and cognitive status in the institutionalized elderly: perceptions & interventions.

The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between: (1) nurses' ratings of pain and corresponding administration of pain medication to elderly long-term care residents, and (2) cognitive status of the elderly and pain medication orders/administration. Participants were 83 residents, 60 years of age and older, in two groups: cognitively impaired (n = 64), and cognitively intact (n = 19). For comparison purposes, 19 of the …