• Rhodee van Herk, Monique van Dijk, Frans P M Baar, Dick Tibboel, and Rianne de Wit.
• Pain Expertise Center, Erasmus MC, and Department of Pediatric Surgery, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. r.vanherk@erasmusmc.nl
• Nurs Res. 2007 Jan 1;56(1):34-43.

BackgroundSeveral pain observation scales have been developed to accurately assess and manage pain in older adults with severe cognitive impairments, communication difficulties, or both.ObjectiveTo review relevant pain observation scales and the psychometric qualities of these scales.MethodsThe literature was searched for articles reporting the use of a pain observation scale in an empirical study and describing psychometric properties in older adults with cognitive impairments, communication difficulties, or both.ResultsThirteen pain observation scales were included. Scales differed in numbers of items, types of categories, and psychometric properties. Facial expression, vocalization, motor behavior, and social behavior or mood are categories present in most of the scales. In terms of reliability and validity, however, most studies are too limited or incomplete to allow definite conclusions to be drawn about usefulness in daily practice.DiscussionAs different methods of evaluating reliability and validity were used, and different aims (e.g., type of pain) were pursued, the available scales cannot be compared easily. Nevertheless, a few are promising, given preliminary results. These should be examined further on psychometric properties and usefulness in different populations because optimal pain assessment is necessary for efficient and effective pain treatment.

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