Trial of a new pain assessment tool in patients with low education: the full cup test

Pain is subjective and pain assessment depends on the patient's self-report. The measurement of pain needs simple tools, especially in patients with low education. There are limited reports about pain assessment in this type of patient. The aims of the present study were to develop a pain scale that is easy for patients with low education to understand and to evaluate its usefulness in these patients.

A total of 128 adult non-demented patients presenting with headaches or rheumatologic pain were included in this study. The first phase of the study involved 114 patients and aimed to estimate the usefulness of the full cup test (FCT) compared with the visual analogue scale (VAS). The second phase of the study involved 23 patients with headaches selected randomly from the 114 patients and assessed the usefulness of the FCT for detecting changes in pain levels. The third phase of the study involved 14 patients with low education suffering from headaches and examined the usefulness of the FCT in these patients.

The mean VAS and FCT scores were statistically correlated and reliable and did not differ significantly. Patients with low education understood the FCT more easily than the VAS.

We concluded that the FCT is useful for both assessing and differentiating changes in pain, and is suitable for assessing pain in patients with low education.