title: Psychometric Evaluation of the Revised Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT-R) in a Sample of Diverse Cognitively Intact and Impaired Older Adults: A Pilot Study.
abstract: Self-report pain assessment tools are commonly used in clinical settings to determine patients' pain intensity. The Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) is a tool that was developed for research, but also can be used in clinical settings. However, its utility in clinical settings is challenging because it uses a 13-point scale (0-12 scale) that does not align with common electronic pain scoring metrics. Therefore, this study evaluated the psychometric properties of an 11-point (0-10 scale) adaptation of the Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT-R) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the IPT-R and to determine patient preference for a self-report pain assessment tool. A descriptive, correlational design was employed. The IPT-R was compared with the original IPT and a numeric rating scale (NRS). This study was conducted in the southeastern United States with 75 adults ranging in age from 65-95 years with varying levels of cognition. Participants were primarily representative of black and white backgrounds. Participants were asked to rate current pain, worst pain during the past week, and reassessment of current pain after 10-minute intervals using three scales (IPT-R, IPT, and NRS) presented in random order. Participants were asked to identify the tool preferred (the easiest to use and that best represented their pain intensity). Spearman-rank correlations were performed to determine convergent validity and test-retest reliability. Based on the results of this preliminary study, the IPT-R has good validity and reliability. The participants in this sample preferred the IPT-R over the original IPT (0-12 scale) and the traditional NRS (0-10 scale). Clinicians may consider using this tool with diverse older patients to assess pain intensity.
authors.affiliation: University of West Georgia, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, Carrollton, Georgia. Electronic address: lware@westga.edu.
authors.forename: Laurie Jowers
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Ware
authors.affiliation: The University of Iowa, College of Nursing, Iowa City, Iowa.
authors.forename: Keela A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Herr
authors.affiliation: The University of Iowa, College of Nursing, Iowa City, Iowa.
authors.forename: Staja Star
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Booker
authors.affiliation: University of West Georgia, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, Carrollton, Georgia.
authors.forename: Kelley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dotson
authors.affiliation: University of West Georgia, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, Carrollton, Georgia.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Key
authors.affiliation: University of West Georgia, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, Carrollton, Georgia.
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Poindexter
authors.affiliation: University of West Georgia, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, Carrollton, Georgia.
authors.forename: Gia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pyles
authors.affiliation: University of West Georgia, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, Carrollton, Georgia.
authors.forename: Bobbie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Siler
authors.affiliation: University of West Georgia, Tanner Health System School of Nursing, Carrollton, Georgia.
authors.forename: Abbot
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Packard
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D057240:Patient Preference; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity