A relationship-centred approach to managing pain in dementia

Abstract

The presence of pain in a person with dementia can often be missed. The diagnosis of dementia can overshadow the pain-inducing symptoms of other co-morbid conditions with distress behaviours being attributed to the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. Such distress behaviours of a person with dementia often have a profound and alarming effect on family carers. This Admiral Nurse case study explores the assessment and management of pain in a person with dementia in partnership with the family carer.