Pilot Evaluation of a Functional Pain Assessment Scale

Area of Science:

• Pain assessment
• Psychometric evaluation
• Clinical practice

Background:

• Current pain assessment tools often overlook functional limitations.
• A need exists for instruments that capture the functional impact of pain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of a novel Functional Pain Assessment Scale (FPAS).
• To determine the reliability and validity of the FPAS in a clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive correlational study was conducted.
• The FPAS was developed and compared against the numeric pain rating scale and visual analog scale.
• The study included 68 hospitalized adult patients with acute and/or chronic pain.

Main Results:

• The FPAS demonstrated significant correlation with established pain scales in cognitively intact patients (ρ = 0.72–0.87).
• High test-retest reliability was observed for the FPAS (ρ = 0.82–0.94).
• Patients, particularly those over 40, showed a significant preference for the FPAS.

Conclusions:

• The FPAS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing pain in cognitively intact adults.
• The FPAS effectively measures the functional impact of pain, complementing intensity measures.
• Clinicians may consider the FPAS for improved pain assessment in specific patient populations.