Psychometric Properties of Pain Intensity Scales in Isfahanian Geriatric Population

Given the importance of pain assessment in the older adults, instrumentation for pain measurement is inevitable. The aim of this study is to compare psychometric properties of three commonly used pain intensity scales; (Numeric Rating Scale , Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS) and, Faces Pain Scale Revised (FPS-R)) in Isfahanian older adults, to identify the most validated and reliable scale.
 
This was a methodological study on 60 cognitively intact older people in Isfahan in 2017, selected through convenience sampling. First, the worst pain of life and then pain intensity in general, at rest and immediately after the movement of upper and lower limbs was measured using all three scales. The data was analyzed by SPSS 20 using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) and Chi-square tests.
 
Based on the results, there was no significant differences between FPS-R and VDS in terms of preference (p = 0.506) and simplicity (p = 0.647). Finding showed significance and convergent validity, and reliability of all three tests (p < 0.05).
 
All three pain assessment tools adequately demonstrated reliable validity to measure pain in isfahanian older adults. Accordingly, hence probable limited generalizability of the results, nurses and other health care team could be recommended to use the pain assessment tools specially VDS for pain assessment in old people.