Barrierer ved smertevurdering hos personer med demens

Abstract
When healthcare professionals assess whether a person with dementia is experiencing pain, the pain assessment can be challenging. The purpose of this study was to develop knowledge about barriers that healthcare professionals articulate in pain assessment in dementia care. The aim is improvement of pain assessment and thereby potentially the quality of life for people with dementia. This study is qualitative and based on 20 semi-structured individual interviews and one interview with 3 healthcare professionals. Data was analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. 3 themes emerged as barriers in pain assessment in dementia care: “The wordless pain is overlooked due to insufficient knowledge”, “structure determines the conditions of barriers and possibilities” and “experience and personal knowledge as vulnerability and strength in pain assessment”. These barriers should be addressed to support the best possible quality of life for a vulnerable group of people.