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The Assessment of Pain in the Elderly

  • Chapter
Handbook of Pain and Aging

Part of the book series: The Springer Series in Adult Development and Aging ((SSAD))

Abstract

Pain is a multidimensional experience made up of sensory, affective, and cognitive-evaluative components, which interact, and each of which contributes to the determination of the final pain response (Melzack & Casey, 1968). Age may have an effect on each of these dimensions and ultimately on the pain experienced. The assessment of pain in the elderly, therefore, requires a holistic approach with sensitivity to the special concerns of this population.

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  1. Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1B1

    Lucy Gagliese & Ronald Melzack

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  1. Lucy Gagliese
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  2. Ronald Melzack
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  1. Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA

    David I. Mostofsky

  2. The Herczeg Institute on Aging, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Jacob Lomranz

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Gagliese, L., Melzack, R. (1997). The Assessment of Pain in the Elderly. In: Mostofsky, D.I., Lomranz, J. (eds) Handbook of Pain and Aging. The Springer Series in Adult Development and Aging. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0283-2_4

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