Pain issues in people with limited mental communication

The incidence of pain in people with mental impairment is probably greater than in the general population, because there is greater accompanying morbidity; on the other hand invasive techniques such as surgeries are often needed. From the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), behavioural observation is proposed as a tool for assessing pain in people with communication problems. Behavioral indicators for pain indicate a set of observed verbal or non-verbal behaviors that could be considered as an expression or reaction to the subjective feeling of pain experienced by a person with communication deficits. The problem of the assessment of pain in these individuals remains serious and difficult as the pain from its definition is subjective and in these individuals the basic tool of evaluation is lacking the communication.The tagert of identifying and treating pain in people with mental impairment is a challenge for today's community of algologists for further research and evidence of reliable diagnostic and treatment tools.

Author(s): Evangelia Michail Michailidou

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