title: Measuring pain intensity in nursing home residents.
abstract: Assessing pain intensity in nursing home residents remains a challenge. As part of a multifaceted intervention study to improve pain practices in nursing homes, quarterly pain assessments were conducted in 12 Colorado nursing homes. Residents who reported pain or discomfort of any kind in the past 24 hours were asked to choose one of three pain intensity scales to quantify their current and highest level of pain intensity. They were also observed for pain behaviors using Feldt's Checklist of Nonverbal Pain Indicators. Residents preferred the Verbal Descriptor Scale almost 2:1 over the 11-point Verbal Numeric Rating Scale and the Faces Pain Scale. Sex and ethnicity were associated with differences in scale preference. More than one-half of residents reporting pain had an observable pain indicator. There was a monotonic relationship between reported pain intensity and number of observed pain indicators. To improve pain assessment and management in nursing homes, residents should be given a choice of pain intensity scales and observed for possible pain behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, Connecticut 06536, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hutt
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vojir
authors.forename: Ginnette A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Pepper
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scott-Cawiezell
authors.forename: B Karen
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Mellis
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003120:Colorado / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires