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BioPsychoSocial Assessment Tools for the Elderly - Assessment Summary Sheet Test: Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) Year: 2005 Domain: Biological Assessment Tool Category: Pain Variations/Translations: The Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) was adapted from the original Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS) and is a revised version of the Original Pain Thermometer. Setting: Clinical Method of Delivery: Administered by clinician or self-report. Description: The Iowa Pain Thermometer is a modified verbal descriptor scale made up of seven pain describing words associated with seven varying levels of pain intensity. It can be used as a way to pictorially describe pain symptoms. Patients are asked to visualize a thermometer with the temperature rising and relate it to their feelings of pain. As the temperature rises, so does the feeling of pain intensity. The thermometer is used as a tool to help conceptualize pain. Over time, the change in levels of pain and descriptors can be evaluated to help see effectiveness or failure in pain treatments. Scoring/Interpretation: Seven pain levels corresponding to different feelings of pain intensity are organized beside the picture of a thermometer. These pain levels include no pain, slight pain, mild pain, moderate pain, severe pain, very severe pain, and the most severe pain imaginable. There are also numerical response options placed between the words that range from zero to twelve. Participants are asked to place a checkmark in the circle beside the thermometer to indicate current level of pain. The administrator should keep track of the words associated with the level of pain and area of the thermometer as well. As an alternative, the words could also be scored as a scale from zero to twelve. Time to Administer: Approximately 5 minutes. Availability: Available Online Software: N/A Website: http://www.painknowledge.org/physiciantools/Pain_Thermometer/ http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/igec/tools/categoryMenu.asp?categoryID=7 Quantitative/Qualitative: Quantitative (numerical scoring) / Qualitative (word interpretation) Validity (Quantitative): In a study by Taylor et al. (2005) they sought to identify the validity and reliability of pain intensity scales including the Faces Pain Scale (FPS), the Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS), the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and the Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) in a cognitively impaired population. Spearman rank coefficients ranged from 0.78 to 0.86 supporting concurrent validity. In the non-cognitively impaired group all scales correlated highly with values from 0.96 to 0.97. Reliability (Quantitative): Test-retest reliability in the above study ranged from 0.67 to 0.85 for the cognitively intact group which was found acceptable, but unacceptable was the range of 0.26 to 0.67 in the cognitively impaired group after a two week interval. References:
Herr, K., & Mobily, P. (1993). Comparison of selected pain assessment tools for use with the elderly. Journal of Applied Nursing Research, 6(1), 39-46. Herr, K., Spratt, K., & Garand, L. (2007). Evaluation of the Iowa Pain Thermometer and other selected pain intensity scales in younger and older adult cohorts using controlled clinical pain: a preliminary study. Journal of Pain Medicine, 8(7), 585-600. Jowers Taylor, L., Harris, J., Epps, C., & Herr, K. (2005). Psychometric Evaluation of Selected Pain Intensity Scales for Use with Cognitively Impaired and Cognitively Intact Older Adults. Rehabilitation Nursing, 30(2), 55-61. Comments: This scale is useful among individuals who have trouble communicating or may be cognitively impaired. The IPT is well received test in both cognitively impaired and non-cognitively impaired populations. Cognitive impairment was also not a hindrance to the use of the IPT in both younger and older patients. The IPT shows the lowest failure rate of all pain reporting scales. |