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Use of pain assessment tools: is there a preference?
M Gordon1, E Greenfield, J Marvin
1Institute of Surgical Research, Ft Sam Houston, TX 78234-6015, USA.
The Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation
|October 28, 1998
Summary
Patients with burns prefer faces and color scales for pain assessment over traditional visual analog and adjective scales. This study highlights the need to re-evaluate current pain measurement tools in burn care.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Research
- Pain Management
- Burn Care
Background:
- Pain management is a critical area in burn nursing research.
- Previous surveys indicate Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and adjective scales are commonly used for pain assessment in burn centers.
- This study addresses the research priority of identifying optimal pain measurement methods for burn patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare patient preferences for different pain assessment tools in burn care.
- To evaluate the efficacy of various pain scales, including Visual Analog Scale (VAS), adjective scales, color scales, word scales, and faces scales.
- To inform burn centers about patient-preferred pain assessment methods.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, multicenter study involving 40 burn patients.
- Patients used Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and color scales for 3 days, followed by word and faces scales for another 3 days.
- Pain levels were assessed twice daily (quiet time and post-activity), with patient preference recorded after each cycle and at study completion.
Main Results:
- Patients expressed a preference for faces and color scales over the commonly used Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and adjective scales.
- The study identified specific pain assessment tools that are favored by burn patients.
- Patient preference data suggests a potential shift from traditional assessment methods.
Conclusions:
- Faces and color scales are preferred by burn patients compared to Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and adjective scales.
- Further research is recommended to explore the impact of preferred pain assessment tools on pain intervention outcomes.
- Burn centers may consider re-evaluating their current selection of pain assessment tools based on patient preferences.
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