BioPsychoSocial Assessment Tools for the Elderly - Assessment Summary Sheet

Test: Functional Pain Scale (FPS)

Year: 2001

Domain: Biological

Assessment Tool Category: Pain

Variations/Translations: English

Setting: Clinical

Method of Delivery: Self-report

Description: Due to the difficulty associated with measuring pain in frail older adults, this tool takes into consideration both subjective and objective elements of pain. The Functional Pain Scale is an effective way to assess pain in the elderly and has proven helpful in identifying changes in pain. The test begins with determining whether the participant has pain or not. The administrator asks the participant if pain is present. If it is not, the test stops here. If pain is present they are then asked to rate it as either tolerable or intolerable. Next, is to determine whether the pain interrupts function or activities.

Scoring/Interpretation: The scale ranges from 0-5 and the participants score will fall within this range 0-5 range based a combination of their subjective rating of pain and their objective opinion about how that pain interferes with daily activities. A lower score is linked to lower levels of pain and reduced interference from pain on daily activities.

Time to Administer: Less than 5 minutes

Availability: Available online or in original article. Subscription required.

Software: N/A

Website: http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/igec/tools/categoryMenu.asp?categoryID=7

Quantitative/Qualitative: Quantitative

Validity (Quantitative): A study by Gloth et al. (2001) found strong correlations between the Functional pain scale and the Visual Analog scale, Present Pain Intensity scale, the McGill Short form questionnaire and the Numeric Pain scale. The corresponding correlations were r = 0.62,
r = 0.85, r = 0.80, and r = 0.90.

Reliability (Quantitative): Interrater reliability surpassed 0.95 in all the tested instruments (Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Present Pain Intensity (PPI), the McGill Short Form Questionnaire (MPQ-SF), and the Numeric Pain Scale (NPS)). Responsiveness was found to be the highest for the Functional Pain Scale.

References:

Gloth, F., Scheve, A., Stober, C., Chow, S., & Prosser, J. (2001). The Functional Pain Scale: reliability, validity, and responsiveness in an elderly population. Journal of American Medical Directors Association, 2(3), 110-114.

Comments: It is important to note that limitations in function only apply if those limitations are present due to the pain being assessed.