Implementation of the Pain Management Toolkit

Launched by MEDIZINISCHE UNIVERSITÄT GRAZ, INSTITUT FÜR PFLEGEWISSENSCHAFT ·

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This study in Graz, Austria is trying out a Pain Management Toolkit in nursing homes to see if non-drug methods can help both residents with pain and the staff who care for them. It uses a single-group approach (everyone gets the toolkit, no control group) and will follow about 40 adults who have pain and live in participating nursing homes for about a year. The researchers will look at whether staff feel more confident in managing pain, how often non-drug methods are used, and how residents experience pain and quality of life. Non-drug options include things like exercise, relaxation, massage, music, laughter, mindful activities, positioning, and other mind–body techniques chosen with each person.

To be eligible, adults 18 and older must have pain and live in a nursing home that joins the study. Participants will not be part of a drug trial; instead, care staff and residents work together to choose suitable non-pharmacological interventions from the toolkit. The study will collect information on: staff self-confidence in pain care, how often non-drug methods are used, any changes in pain medication use, and residents’ pain frequency and intensity, how pain affects daily life (PEG scale), and overall health-related quality of life (EQ-5D VAS). It will also explore what helps or hinders implementing the toolkit from the staff’s perspective. The project is led by the Medical University of Graz and is expected to wrap up around September 2026.

Gender

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Eligibility criteria