Spasticity and Long-term Care: Validation of a Screening Tool and International Perspectives on Implementation

Session Summary Narrative
Spasticity is highly prevalent in long-term care (LTC) populations but often remains under-recognized, leading to unnecessary pain, contractures, and functional decline. Nurses and personal support workers are central to daily resident care yet frequently report uncertainty in identifying spasticity and limited access to referral pathways. To address this gap, our multi-phase study examined both provider experiences and resident-level data.
Through qualitative interviews with nurses, we identified key knowledge gaps, workload challenges, and barriers to advocating for residents’ specialized care. Quantitatively, we assessed over 290 residents using the Modified Ashworth Scale, Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Spasticity Screening Tool (SST; Zorowitz et al. 2017), and electronic medical record review. The SST demonstrated strong validity (AUC = 0.80) in distinguishing residents with and without spasticity, highlighting its utility as a practical bedside screening tool. We also present novel findings on the relationships between spasticity, function, pain, and daily care burden in LTC populations.
This interactive workshop will present these key results alongside international perspectives from Canada and Australia, fostering discussion on how to integrate spasticity screening and management into LTC practice.

How will the Workshop Work in 2 Hour (120 minutes ) Workshop
Course Outline
Presentation Titles 40 minutes x 3 ... Includes Q and A: 120 minutes

1. Outline and Describe the burden and under-recognition of spasticity in LTC and its "Impact on Function”
2. How to Apply a validated Screening Tool (SST) for early Identification of residents who may benefit from treatment and further assessment
3.Compare Canadian and Australian experiences in spasticity detection and management, identifying practical strategies for implementation in LTC settings.

COI
Unless noted below there are none. 
Thomas A. Miller, MD – Disclosed speakers bureau participation (AbbVie)
Karen Ethans, MD – Disclosed co-development and advisory board participation (Ipsen)