The meaning of “total pain” in the context of living and dying with dementia

Applied to dementia care, "total pain" should be located within a critical context, emphasising complexity, contingency and nuance. The holistic focus of "<i>total</i> pain" should be extended to incorporate balanced consideration of "painful" and "functional" experience. We introduce a balanced model of total pain incorporating a dual focus on "pain" and "personhood" within a critical context, to facilitate translation to practice. There is a need to develop evidence-based supportive interventions in each domain of total pain, to support a balanced approach to total pain management in dementia care.