Use of pain assessment tools: is there a preference?

The burn nursing Delphi study identified pain management as the most important area of burn nursing research. The question, "What is the best method to measure the pain of the patient with burns?" ranked in the top 10% of the nursing research priorities and is the research question of this study. The most commonly used pain assessment tools were determined in a 1994 survey of burn centers. Of those that responded, 67% used the Visual Analog Scale and 43% used an adjective scale. Forty patients were enrolled in this prospective, multicenter study. Visual analog and color scales were used during a 3-day cycle and word and faces scales were used during another 3-day cycle. Pain levels were assessed twice each day, once during a quiet time and then again immediately after a painful activity. At the end of each 3-day cycle the patient was asked which tool he or she preferred. At the completion of the study period the patient was asked to select the overall most preferred tool for pain assessment. Although this study indicates that patients prefer the faces and color scales to the most commonly used visual analog and adjective scales, further research is needed to determine the potential impact of preferred tools on pain intervention. The results may also lead burn centers to re-evaluate current selection of pain assessment tools.