Research on the Current Status of Chronic Pain Suffered by Old People in Nursing Homes and their Demand for Mobile Health Application (APP)

Objective: This paper aims to investigate the current status of chronic pain of old people in nursing homes and the demand for mobile health application (APP) and to provide references for the informatized management of chronic pain in nursing homes and for progressing smart elderly care. Methods: This paper used convenience sampling, questionnaire and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), developed a mobile medical application (APP) and adopted a questionnaire on usage intention and demands for the APP to survey 203 old people in six nursing homes in Chenzhou. Results: The rate of the old people’s having chronic pain in the nursing homes is 60.09%. As for the old, the lower limb is the body part that is most easily painful, and the rate of this part’s pain accounts for 39.34%, followed by waist and back (32.79%), neck (31.97%), head and face (20.49%). Over the past week, the most severe degree of pain is 5.37±2.03, the average degree of pain is 3.57±1.62, and the current degree of pain is 2.87±2.12. The greatest effects that chronic pain has on old people are sleep, daily life, daily work (housework) and emotion in order. There are 54.10% of the chronic pain of old people being relieved by drug or no-drug treatment and the average degree of relief is 61.67±18.19%. Among the old people who suffer from chronic pain, 66.39% of them are willing to choose the mobile health APP to reduce their pain. In terms of the functions of the APP, what old people call for most is the skills and instruction of self-care of their pain, followed by aching detection, records of everyday pain, and knowledge about chronic pain. Conclusions: As the rate of chronic pain is high, chronic pain can greatly affect their life and the pain management is insufficient, old people are willing to use mobile health APP for pain management. The APP’s function focuses on the self-management skills for relieving pain. In the designing process of research and development of an APP, the principle of "suit and help the old" should be conformed to, the real needs of the old should be taken into account, and the information and services should be scientific and practical, so that smart elderly care can go into the old people’s life in nursing homes.