Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Pain assessment in nonverbal older adults with advanced dementia
1College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. msmith1@netins.net
Topic:
Pain assessment is a particular challenge among individuals with advanced dementia who lack the ability to formulate and express their experience of discomfort.
Purpose:
Awareness of pain scales and methods specifically designed for use with nonverbal individuals with dementia is critical to expanded use and testing in clinical settings.
Sources:
Computerized literature searches using four databases revealed the five observational scales and two caregiver reports methods reviewed.
Conclusions:
A small number of valid, reliable, and sensitive scales are available for use by nurses and allied health personnel. Each has strengths and limitations and all would benefit from additional testing.
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