Compact Clinical Guide to Geriatric Pain Management

"The care of older adults suffering with pain is a difficult task that calls for understanding as well as compassion. Dr. Quinlan-Colwell has written an excellent book that deals with every facet of the problems that are encountered by caregivers....[This book] provides the reader with valuable knowledge that will diminish suffering and enrich the lives of people confronting new, often frightening, problems."

From the Foreword by Ronald Melzack, PhD, FRSC
Professor Emeritus McGill University

"This is a well-written and concise book....Nurses and other healthcare professionals will certainly find this book a useful resource for understanding and managing geriatric pain."--Clinical Nurse Specialist

Older adults can be especially susceptible to the debilitating effects of chronic pain, yet there are often barriers to successfully alleviating pain on the part of elderly patients and the health care professionals who treat them. This comprehensive guide to geriatric pain management provides the most current information available on assessment and treatment of pain in older adults.

In a concise, reader-friendly format, the book provides techniques, tips, and tools for assessing pain and examines barriers to appropriate treatment. It addresses the physiological and psychosocial factors underlying the process and occurrence of pain and helps nurses to develop a comprehensive multimodal approach to pain management that includes pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions. The guide provides detailed coverage of medications commonly used for pain management, including all contraindications and side effects, so that nurses will be able to evaluate the best use of a medication in the context of comorbidities and sensitivities of each individual. Also addressed are chronic illnesses common to the elderly population, palliative and hospice care, treatment of concurrent depression and anxiety, treatment of cognitively impaired elderly, and techniques for assessment and intervention in cases of substance abuse.

Key Features:

• Provides concise yet comprehensive information on assessment and treatment of geriatric pain
• Includes detailed coverage of a great variety of pain medications, including contraindications and side effects
• Explores barriers to appropriate treatment
• Covers chronic diseases of the elderly, palliative and hospice care, depression and anxiety, substance abuse, and treatment of cognitively impaired elderly
• Written by a highly respected practitioner and educator in geriatric pain management
• Includes case studies, handy tables, questions for reflection, and references for additional study

Ann Quinlan-Colwell, PhD, RNC, AHNBC, FAAPM is Pain Management CNS at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington, NC, where she provides clinical care, education and research relating to pain, stress management and leadership to influence policy and procedure development for patients, families, nurses and other healthcare providers. Dr. Quinlan-Colwell has extensive pain management/coordinator clinical experiences at Duke University and Castle Point VA medical Center (NY); hospice and palliative care and home health care management (Duke Hospice and UNC-Chapel Hill). Additionally, Ann has prison nursing experience including TB surveillance (NY State Dept of Corrections) and Director of Nursing @ Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Hudson (NY) Correctional Facility and Green Haven Correctional Facility (Stormville, NY). Dr. Quinlan-Colwell is certified as a pain management nurse (ANCC), Advanced Holistic Nurse, and is certified instructor in holistic Stress Management. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Pain Management. Yvonne D'Arcy is an expert pain management and palliative care nurse practitioner who has received several awards for nursing excellence, and possesses a remarkable publishing and presentation career history. Currently, Ms D'Arcy is the NP for Pain Management and Palliative Care at Suburban Hospital, in Bethesda, Maryland. She has significant experience in pain management, having worked as Staff Education Coordinator at Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Pain Clinic Supervisor at the Mayo Clinic, in Jacksonville, Florida, and Pain Center Manager and Clinical Coordinator, of the Acute Pain Service at the Heartland Health System, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Her accomplishments include delivering more than 100 poster and oral presentations, publishing more than 100 journal articles on pain-related topics, authoring three books on pain, serving as consultant for pharmaceutical companies, VA hospitals, pain clinics, and publishing companies (Elsevier; LWW; P-H) and serving on the Editorial Boards of Nursing (journal), the Journal for Nurse Practitioners and the Pain Management News. Ms. D'Arcy has been an active member of the Pain Management Society and the American Society of Pain Management Nurses, having served on various committees, task forces and in executive positions. She also belongs to Sigma Theta Tau, the International Association for the Study of Pain and the American Academy of Pain Medicine.