A comparison of pain-assessment tools for use with elderly long-term-care residents.
The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties (test-retest and interrater reliability, criterion concurrent validity) of 3 verbal pain-assessment tools (Faces Pain Scale, Numerical Rating Scale, Present Pain Intensity Scale) and a behavioural pain-assessment scale for use with an elderly population. The study used a repeated-measures design to examine the reliability and validity of the tools across 4 groups of participants with varying levels of cognitive impairment using a non-random stratified sample of 130 elderly long-term-care residents. The findings support the test-retest and interrater reliability of the behavioural pain-assessment tool across all levels of cognitive impairment, whereas the same measures of reliability for the verbal-report tools decreased with increasing cognitive impairment; however, the majority of elderly with mild to moderate cognitive impairment were able to complete at least 1 of these tools. The findings are discussed in relation to their clinical and research implications.
Kaasalainen
Sharon
S
School of Nursing, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Crook
Joan
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015588:Observer Variation; D009864:Ontario; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011594:Psychometrics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014705:Verbal Behavior