Pain and COVID 19: International Dementia Conference

Pain is a very common and personal experience that can have a significant impact on people’s lives. Over 3.37 million Australians experience chronic pain and the prevalence increases with age. Pain also overlaps with dementia: it is estimated that up to 80 per cent of aged care residents have chronic pain, while 53 per cent of people in residential aged care have a diagnosis of dementia. As a result, pain is often undetected or mistreated in many aged care residents.

People with chronic pain may be more susceptible to COVID-19, particularly older people. It is important to recognise and manage pain in the best way possible for older people – the threat of COVID-19 makes this critical. While the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care highlighted much-needed changes in the aged care sector, the added complication of COVID-19 creates a perfect storm for timely action to bring these improvements forward.

CEO of Painaustralia Carol Bennett will join Dr Jennifer Abbey, Founder of the Abbey Pain Scale and Philip Daffas, CEO and Managing Director – PainCheck at the International Dementia Conference: Care in the Age of Outrage speaking on the topic of pain management in aged care on 22 September which will be streamed live and available on-demand.