BACKGROUND: There is a high incidence of pain amongst older people. Several studies have shown that between 50 to 80 % of older people, who require domestic care or live in care homes, suffer from pain. Despite this many older people are under treated. AIM: The aim of

this study was to explore what care providers perceive to be obstacles and opportunities of managing pain in older people. METHOD: A qualitative approach was used and the date was semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. In all, there were 41 participants in the study; 23 auxiliary nurses, 13 registered nurses, 5 physiotherapists/occupational therapists. RESULT: The analyses resulted in a structure of obstacles and opportunities in dealing with pain management amongst old people. The structure include; the care providers, the elderly person, the organization and various treatment methods. CONCLUSION: To achieve alleviation of pain among older people a holistic approach based on a structure of four elements is suggested.