A pain scale measures a patient's pain intensity or other features. Pain scales are a common communication tool in medical contexts, and are used in a variety of medical settings. Pain scales are a necessity to assist with better assessment of pain and patient screening. Pain measurements help determine the severity, type, and duration of the pain, and are used to make an accurate diagnosis, determine a treatment plan, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. [medical citation needed] Pain scales are based on trust, cartoons (behavioral), or imaginary data, and are available for neonates, infants, children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and persons whose communication is impaired. Pain assessments are often regarded as "the 5th vital sign".[1]
A patient's self-reported pain is so critical in the pain assessment method that it has been described as the "most valid measure" of pain.[2][3] The focus on patient report of pain is an essential aspect of any pain scale, but there are additional features that should be included in a pain scale. In addition to focusing on the patient's perspective, a pain scale should also be free of bias, accurate and reliable, able to differentiate between pain and other undesired emotions, absolute not relative, and able to act as a predictor or screening tool.[2]
- ^ "Pain: current understanding of assessment, management and treatments" (PDF). Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the National Pharmaceutical Council, Inc. December 2001. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
- ^ a b "Pain Assessment Tools". paincommunitycentre.org. 19 November 2023.
- ^ Adams P (May 2017). "Supporting the Self-Management of Chronic Pain Conditions with Tailored Momentary Self-Assessments". Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Vol. 2017. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. pp. 1065–1077. doi:10.1145/3025453.3025832. ISBN 9781450346559. PMC 6176683. PMID 30310887.