Physicians' Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Use of Opioids in Long-Term Care Facilities.

Background: Insufficient pain management in vulnerable older persons living in long-term care facilities is common, and opiophobia might contribute to this. As opiophobia and its related factors have not been investigated in long-term care, this study evaluates the degree of knowledge of opioids among elderly-care physicians (ECPs) and ECP trainees, as well as their attitudes and other factors possibly influencing the clinical use of opioids in these facilities.

Methods: A questionnaire was designed and distributed among ECPs and ECP trainees by email, regional symposia, and all three university training faculties for elderly-care medicine in the Netherlands.

Prevalence of the Use of Opioids for Treatment of Pain in Persons with a Cognitive Impairment Compared with Cognitively Intact Persons: A Systematic Review.

Aim: To describe the prevalence of opioid use in persons with a cognitive impairment compared with cognitively intact persons and to explore factors associated with opioid prescription.

Method: A search was made in PubMed (Medline), Embase, Cochrane, Central, Cinahl, PsychInfo and Web of Science and additional articles were identified by manual search of reference lists. Titles and abstracts were screened and eligible articles reviewed in full-text.