In aged care facilities worldwide the incidence of pain among

& Keefe, 1999) pain has been reported to be as high as 44 to 80 percent within the facilities surveyed. These studies show that the assessment and detection of pain is very poor, despite the monitoring and surveillance facilities are expected to provide. Complications of chronic pain, such as depression, decreased socialisation, sleep disturbances and impaired mobility and cognitive function are worsened by the presence of pain and they increase health care utilisation and costs (Ferrell, 1995; Herr, Bjoro, & Decker, 2006). The high prevalence of pain in older people, and its impact makes pain in this population a public health issue (Fox, Parminder & Jadad, 1999; Australian Pain Society, 2005). Indeed, it seems incongruous that while scientific research has uncovered many of the biochemical and neurobiological processes of pain, along with the development of sophisticated treatments for its control, many older people continue to live with unrelieved pain. LIFE IN RESIDENTIAL CAR