MEASURING PAIN (SUBJECTIVE MEASURES) Flashcards
What are clinical interviews?
- A psychological interview that aims to…
1) Gain an understanding of the patients pain experience.
2) Evaluate factors (psych/behavioural) that can influence a patients experience/reporting of pain.
What is clinical interview? (simple)
- Psychological interview.
Clinical interviews usually are conducted after the medical examinations, and the gathering if medical history. So, what does a clinical interview aim to do?
- UNDERSTAND the patients pain experience.
- EVALUATE a factors that influence a patients experience/ reporting of pain
Outline the structure of the clinical interview?
- Activities
- Coping
- Think
- Upset
- People
ACT UP
Explain the structure of the clinical interview?
- Activities: Different ways pain can affect daily activities. (eating, sleeping)
- Coping: How does the patient cope/deal with the pain?
- Think: How do they think about the pain? (better/worse)
- Upset: Does the pain affect the patients mood?
- People: How do the people around the patient respond to their pain?
Name 1 strength of the clinical interview.
- Collects detailed qualitative data: Collects rich qualitative data which allows a deep understanding of the patients pain experiences (which is subjective)
Name 1 weakness of the clinical interview.
- Subjective/Social desirability response: Relies heaviliy on self-reported data which is subjective/based on personal opinions. Patients may downplay/exaggerate symptoms (attention/fear)
What does the MPQ stand for?
- McGill Pain Questionnaire
The MPQ scale ranges from…
- 0 (no pain)
- 78 (severe pain)
What is the MPQ?
- A pain-assesment questionnaire. Used to assess the quality and intensity of pain
- Based on 78 words. The words are assigned value based on their severity.
- The patient chooses the best descriptors of their pain.
- The patient is given a score from 0 (no pain) to 78 (severe pain)
Can you name what the MPQ covers generally?
- 4 categories of pain descriptors (PAEM)
- List of items that increase/decrease the pain
- Questions regarding the intensity of the pain.
How is the patient given a score from the VAS?
- Usually given a score from 0-100
- The patients mark is transffered into a numerical value
1. Measuring distance from end point (no pain)
2. To the patients mark
What is the Visual Analogue Scale (Vas)?
- A scale that assesess pain on a continum. From (no pain) to an (extreme amount) of pain.
- It is usually represented in a (100mm) straight line.
- The patient is asked to mark where on the line best represents their pain.
Name 1 strength of the VAS
- Efficient: Extremely quick and easy to adminsiter
- Senstive: More senstive to small changes compared to using descriptive categories (mild, strong)
Name 1 weakness of the Visual Analogue scale
- Limited scope: Can only measure pain intensity. Without capturing other dimensions like strength/quality/emotional impact (like the MPQ)
What is the University of Alabama Scale (UAB)?
- A scale used to assess pain from behavioural observation.
- It tracks 10 behaviours observed by someone living with the patient.
- The observer notes the: Severity, frequency, intensity of each behaviour (assigning 0, 0.5, 1 point)
- The observer gives a score out of 10 (high scores= worser issues)
What is the UAB (simple definition)
A scale used to assess pain from behavioural observation.
How does the UAB work?
- It tracks 10 behaviours observed by someone living with the patient.
- The observer notes the: Severity, frequency, intensity of each listed behaviour (assigning 0, 0.5, 1 point)
- The observer gives a score out of 10 (high scores= worser issues)
Name 4 behaviours listed by the UAB?
- Verbal complaints
- Downtime
- Mobility
- Facial grimaces
Downtime= Time spent lying down between 8am-8pm
Name 1 strength of thE UAB
- Application: provides carers, parents, healthcare providers a consistent method to asses pain.
- Especially useful for parents as their child may not be able to verbalise their pain.
Name 2 weaknesses of the UAB
- Subjectivity: Different observers may interpret behaviours differently.
- Validity: Outward pain expressions may not reflect internal expreinces. For instance, Individuals experincing sig pain may supress outward pain expressions as a coping mechanism or to sheild others.
Pain expression could be affected by conditioning, reinforcement, trauma
What is the MPQ simply?
- A pain-assesment questionnaire.
- Used to assess the quality and intensity of pain
