Translating Research into Practice Intervention Improves Management of Acute Pain in Older Hip Fracture Patients

Objective

To test an interdisciplinary, multifaceted, translating research into practice (TRIP) intervention to (a) promote adoption, by physicians and nurses, of evidence‐based (EB) acute pain management practices in hospitalized older adults, (b) decrease barriers to use of EB acute pain management practices, and (c) decrease pain intensity of older hospitalized adults.

Study Design

Experimental design with the hospital as the unit of randomization.

Study Setting

Twelve acute care hospitals in the Midwest.

Data Sources

(a) Medical records (MRs) of patients ≥65 years or older with a hip fracture admitted before and following implementation of the TRIP intervention and (b) physicians and nurses who care for those patients.

Data Collection

Data were abstracted from MRs and questions distributed to nurses and physicians.

Principal Findings

The Summative Index for Quality of Acute Pain Care (0–18 scale) was significantly higher for the experimental (10.1) than comparison group (8.4) at the end of the TRIP implementation phase. At the end of the TRIP implementation phase, patients in the experimental group had a lower mean pain intensity rating than those in the comparison group ( <.0001).

Conclusion

The TRIP intervention improved quality of acute pain management of older adults hospitalized with a hip fracture.