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Measures of pain - Coggle Diagram
Measures of pain
Behavioural and observational methods
Behaviourists believe we should not consider subjective feelings or emotions but should only measure pain based on observable behaviour
The UAB Pain Behavioural Scale lists target behaviours which the observer has to judge and observe how frequently they occur
It is a 10-item scale and each question is scored on a 3 point scale (0, 0.5,1)
The final score of pain ranges from 0 - 10. The higher the score, the more pain the patient has
Some example questions are are based on verbal and non-verbal vocal complaints, facial grimaces, body language, etc.
Self-Report (clinical interviews)
Pain quality
Self reports ask the level of unpleasantness and deep and surface pain
Pain location
Identify the area of the body where there is pain
Done for amputees with phantom limbs and young children or those with impaired language
Pain intensity
McGill Pain Questionnaire or observations
Psychometric measures and visual rating scales
McGill Pain Questionnaire (Melzack)
Affective - frightening, worrying - what the pain feels like emotionally
Evaluative unbearable, distressing - the subjective overall intensity of the pain
Sensory - throbbing, burning - what the pain feels like physically
Patients are asked to tick one word from each category that relates to the pain
Patients then have to indicate the location of pain on a body chart
The VAS (Visual Analogue Scale)
It is a line that is 100mm in length with descriptors at either end showing alternative ends of the spectrum
The patient marks the level of pain on the line then a VAS score is calculated
Pain measures for children
Wong - Baker Scale
6 faces shown that range from 0 = no hurt to 6 = hurts worst
The patient should choose a word that best describes how they are feeling
It is used fr young patients aged 3 or younger
The patient is told that each face is for a person who feels happy because he has no pain or because he has some or a lot of pain
The scale has also been modified to be used by chronic patients
Paediatric Pain Questionnaire (Varni and Thompson)
It is developed in a child-friendly manner
Children have to first circle words from a list that best describe the pain they are in
The child then chooses 3 words that describe their pain while they were completing the questionnaire
They are then asked to rate their pain on a continuum form good to bad
The child is given 4 colours to colour in a picture of themselves with one colour for no pain, another colour for mild pain, another colour for moderate pain and the last colour for severe pain