Name of event: Week of Undergraduate Excellence Quick Pitch Competition
Presentation: Tailored Exercise-Based Pain Interventions for People with Dementia
Dates: 5/17/2023, 5/19/2023
Location: Bentley Hall, 2nd floor
Presentation type: Quick Pitch
Abstract Title: Clinician Perspectives on Exercise-Based Pain Interventions for People Living with Dementia
Abstract: Pain affects 50-80% of people living with dementia (PLWD), and its effective management is critical to sustaining or improving quality of life. Exercise is a recommended first-line treatment for pain management in older adults; yet the use of exercise-based programs by clinicians working with those experiencing impaired cognitive processing is unclear. The purpose of this qualitative description study was to explore clinicians’ perceptions in managing chronic musculoskeletal pain in PLWD who are community-dwelling, with exercise-based pain interventions. Individual, semi-structured, virtual interviews were conducted with 12 clinicians (physical therapists = 6, occupational therapists = 4, and nurse practitioners = 2, mean age ± SD = 39.9 ±10.7 years, mean clinical experience ±SD = 8.8±6.7 years, female = 10) from 4 outpatient facilities. Through a conventional content analysis, the key theme that emerged was that exercise interventions used for pain management among PLWD needed to be “carefully tailored”. The clinicians reported that they consider several factors, including the PLWD’s underlying pain mechanism, cognitive ability, physical function, comorbidities, and preferences when developing their exercise programs to manage chronic pain of PLWD. Few studies have emphasized these factors in exercise-based pain interventions, which are especially critical and applicable for pain management in PLWD and should be prioritized in future research.
Presentation: Tailored Exercise-Based Pain Interventions for People with Dementia
Dates: 5/17/2023, 5/19/2023
Location: Bentley Hall, 2nd floor
Presentation type: Quick Pitch
Abstract Title: Clinician Perspectives on Exercise-Based Pain Interventions for People Living with Dementia
Abstract: Pain affects 50-80% of people living with dementia (PLWD), and its effective management is critical to sustaining or improving quality of life. Exercise is a recommended first-line treatment for pain management in older adults; yet the use of exercise-based programs by clinicians working with those experiencing impaired cognitive processing is unclear. The purpose of this qualitative description study was to explore clinicians’ perceptions in managing chronic musculoskeletal pain in PLWD who are community-dwelling, with exercise-based pain interventions. Individual, semi-structured, virtual interviews were conducted with 12 clinicians (physical therapists = 6, occupational therapists = 4, and nurse practitioners = 2, mean age ± SD = 39.9 ±10.7 years, mean clinical experience ±SD = 8.8±6.7 years, female = 10) from 4 outpatient facilities. Through a conventional content analysis, the key theme that emerged was that exercise interventions used for pain management among PLWD needed to be “carefully tailored”. The clinicians reported that they consider several factors, including the PLWD’s underlying pain mechanism, cognitive ability, physical function, comorbidities, and preferences when developing their exercise programs to manage chronic pain of PLWD. Few studies have emphasized these factors in exercise-based pain interventions, which are especially critical and applicable for pain management in PLWD and should be prioritized in future research.