Sleep, Rest, and Pain in the Older Adult

Vocabulary flashcards defining key concepts, types of pain, sleep factors, assessment components, and nursing priorities for older adult care.

Acute Pain

Pain characterized by a sudden onset that is often related to injury, illness, or surgery.

Persistent Pain

Pain that continues beyond expected healing.

Nociceptive Pain

Pain that is directly related to tissue injury.

Neuropathic Pain

Pain that is related to abnormal nerve processing.

Pain Assessment Components

The core aspects of evaluating pain, which include location, intensity, quality, timing, aggravating/relieving factors, impact on function, and what has already been tried.

Influences on Pain Expression

Individual factors affecting how a person expresses pain, including culture, beliefs and attitudes, previous experiences, coping style, and cognitive ability.

Pharmacologic Analgesic Categories

Medication types used to manage pain, divided into nonopioid analgesics, opioid analgesics, and adjuvant analgesics.

Nonpharmacologic Pain Interventions

Non-drug relief methods including positioning, heat/cold application, relaxation, massage, distraction, music, and activity/exercise.

Postoperative Pain Priority

The primary nursing action when a patient reports increasing postoperative pain, which is to promptly assess the pain and provide appropriate pain relief.

Pain Reassessment Protocol

The process performed (e.g., 30 minutes after administering pain medication) to evaluate pain intensity, comfort, function, adverse effects, and progress toward the patient's pain goal.

Behavioral Pain Indicators in Dementia

Nonverbal cues indicating pain in cognitively impaired patients who cannot verbally report it, such as grimacing, guarding a body part, or pushing care staff away.

Age-Related Sleep Pattern Changes

Changes experienced by older adults involving sleep patterns, sleep quality, and sleep efficiency, which must be assessed rather than automatically attributed to normal aging.

Sleep Assessment Factors

Systematic areas to evaluate before treating sleep problems, including usual sleep/wake routine, bedtime routine, napping, pain, nocturia, fluid intake, caffeine, alcohol, medications, environment, and prior attempted measures.

Zolpidem Safety Risk

A sedating sleep medication that presents a major safety concern for older adults due to an increased risk for falls.

Person-Centered Sleep Care

Care that respects and aligns with an individual's personal bedtime routines, preferences, and cultural practices rather than enforcing rigid facility schedules.

Core Nursing Action Sequence

The standard clinical process applied to pain and sleep management: ASSESS → INTERVENE → REASSESS.