Mary Egan and Nicola Cornally discuss to what extent patient, organisational and caregiver factors hamper the delivery of best practice

Aim The aim of this study was to identify barriers to optimal pain management in long-term care (LTC) from a nursing perspective.

Method A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive design was used.

Results Patient-related barriers were seen as interfering more often with optimal pain management than organisational-related or caregiver-related barriers. Difficulty assessing pain due to problems with cognition, older patients’ inability to complete pain scales and communication difficulties as a result of sensory impairment were common barriers.

Conclusion A targeted approach to address the identified barriers would help improve pain management practices in LTC.