Issued by: Kathy Quirk
414-229-3144
kquirk@uwm.edu
Date: May 31, 2002
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Issued by: Kathy Quirk Date: May 31, 2002 |
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| Photo courtesy Dick Blau/Time Slips |
Kovach will receive $364,000 to fund the first year of the research, starting in July. The planned total award for the three-year grant is $1.1 million. The research grant will allow Kovach and her fellow researchers to scientifically test a five-step process designed to help dementia patients who can express their physical or emotional pain only through agitation, verbal outbursts or physical aggression.
"Research is very clear that people with dementia are often under-treated
for pain," says Kovach. "We want to help people who are on life’s
final journey by improving their comfort, quality of life of and human dignity."
"This federal grant has the potential to add a new chapter to the way we care for those suffering with dementia," U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (D-WI) said in announcing the grant. "One of the primary obstacles to properly treating dementia patients is the communications barrier. UWM researchers will use this grant to find new ways to communicate effectively, so patients can get the care they need."
Often, patients suffering from mid- to final stages of dementia receive no pain
relief or inappropriate pain relief because they aren't able to clearly express
their unmet needs, says Kovach, who has done extensive research and writing
on gerontological nursing and treatment of dementia patients. If health care
professionals don't recognize the pain underlying dementia patients' behaviors,
they can't ease their pain or may treat them with inappropriate medications,
she says.
The tool she and her fellow researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison
and the Medical College of Wisconsin are testing is called the Assessment of
Discomfort in Dementia (ADD) protocol. The ADD protocol is a five-step process
that helps nurses and others caring for dementia patients more accurately determine
if physical or psychological pain is causing a patient’s disruptive behavior,
and then treat the pain appropriately.
In previous pilot testing of the ADD protocol, the behavior of 83 percent of
the patients involved improved. In some cases, says Kovach, giving patients
simple pain relievers like acetaminophen (Tylenol, for example) helped. (Generally,
she says, aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDs -- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs —aren’t recommended for elderly patients because of potential
bleeding problems).
Without proper assessment, these patients might have been inappropriately treated
with strong psychotropic (anti-psychotic) medications for their behavior, says
Kovach.
Psychotropic drugs get a bad rap because they are overused or misused. Sometimes,
they’re appropriate, but if the problem is pain, you use pain medication."
Kovach and her fellow researchers plan to scientifically test the results of
their pilot research with a double-blind study of 100 elderly people suffering
from dementia. Caregivers will use the ADD protocol with half of those in the
study; the other half will receive standard care. The researchers will begin
recruiting subjects for the study this summer.
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