Treating the most vulnerable: A discursive review of experimental pain in Alzheimer's disease

Aim The purpose of this manuscript is to summarize research on how experimental pain is experienced by adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to translate results into implications for nurses. Design This discursive review synthesizes the results of three previous research studies exploring experimental pain in adults with AD. Methods Using a series of fictional clinical vignettes, the authors discuss how the results from three previous papers using acute experimental pain can potentially be translated into clinical practice. The authors also introduce the reader to the concept of research-related psychophysics using introductory definitions and concepts with the impetus to encourage other nurses to consider this research methodology. Results Pain characteristics in AD that differ from cognitively intact controls must be explored to properly address pain in this population. Nurses are well positioned to address these issues in order to provide a high quality of care to adults with AD.