title: Assessment and Measurement of Pain in Adults in Later Life.
abstract: Pain in aging adults is a global health problem requiring a proactive and consistent assessment approach. Pain assessment is critical to detecting pain and developing a collaborative and adaptive pain management plan. Getting health providers to assess and measure pain even in older adults who are communicative and can self-report remains a challenge. Self-report is the best method for identifying pain. Using a validated pain assessment scale is key to evaluate pain intensity. This article discusses techniques to obtain self-report and describe appropriate self-report pain tools for a focused pain assessment and reassessment in adults in later life.
authors.affiliation: The University of Iowa, College of Nursing, 50 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
authors.forename: Staja Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Booker
authors.affiliation: The University of Iowa, College of Nursing, 50 Newton Road, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. Electronic address: keela-herr@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: Keela A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Herr
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Aging; Assessment; Later life; Measurement; Older adult; Pain; Self-report