REVIEW OF PAIN ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Pain is common among older adults, and is often underreported because it is considered as part of the normal physiological changes that come with aging. Since self-report of pain is the gold standard in research and practice, it is important to use the appropriate pain assessment tools to facilitate self-report. Little is known which self-report pain assessment tools are most appropriate to use in cognitively intact older adults. Thus, the purpose of this review is to identify which tools have been recognized as appropriate tools for this population. A systematic search was conducted through indexed databases from January 1990 to December 2015. Two raters independently evaluated 35% of abstracts based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. A final set of 43 full articles was reviewed. There were 23 self-reported pain assessment tools including non-dimensional, unidimensional, and multidimensional tools. In this review, the Iowa Pain Thermometer, the 6-point Verbal Descriptor Scale, and the 11-point Verbal Numeric Rating Scale, the short form Brief Pain Inventory and the Geriatric Pain Measure were recognized as more suitable tools than any other tools in cognitively intact older adults across different settings. Only the Geriatric Painful Event Inventory and the Geriatric Pain Measure were developed specifically for older adults. Since 80% of older adults have at least one chronic disease, multidimensional tools such as the Geriatric Pain Measure may be more appropriate. More studies are needed to evaluate the psychometric tests of the Geriatric Pain Measure in different settings, racially diverse populations and diseases or clinical conditions.