Building an institutional commitment to pain management in long-term care facilities

This report reviews the development, implementation and findings of an inter-institutional study directed to the goal of making pain management an institutional priority in Wisconsin long-term care facilities. A total of 87 facilities were recruited in two training cohorts. Each facility identified a team of individuals, with responsibility and authority for care policies within their institution, to participate in four structured educational programs. Each team completed an Action Plan, structured around 14 national practice indicators of an institutional commitment to pain management. At baseline, 14% of facilities had > 51% of the indicators in place; at conclusion 74% of facilities had > 51% of indicators in place. This education project was successful across training cohorts at implementing critical pain management target indicators.