Faces Pain Scale: Difference between revisions

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== Audience ==
== Audience ==
The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale is designed for (age group) ...
The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale can be confidently used by children as young as 3 years old. <ref name=":1" />


It is assumed that children as young as 4 years old should be able to distinguish fascial expressions related to pain, and identify the severity. <ref name=":1" />
It is assumed that children as young as 4 years old should be able to distinguish fascial expressions related to pain, and identify the severity. <ref name=":1" />
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The purpose of this scale is to impose a reduced cognitive burden on children, and thus it is designed for very young children. It is assumed that children are capable of recognizing facial expressions rather than verbal or numerical ratings (as on other pain scales). It is noted that by the age of 4 and 5, children have the capability to identify and distinguish various facial fesatues and fascial patterns of different general emotions. <ref name=":1" />
The purpose of this scale is to impose a reduced cognitive burden on children, and thus it is designed for very young children. It is assumed that children are capable of recognizing facial expressions rather than verbal or numerical ratings (as on other pain scales). It is noted that by the age of 4 and 5, children have the capability to identify and distinguish various facial fesatues and fascial patterns of different general emotions. <ref name=":1" />


It is noted that young infants are able to adjust their fascial expression to address various signs of pain. With development, the infants/children are able to recognize anger reactions. Various emotions become learned and expressed throughout adulthood. <ref name=":1" />    
It is noted that young infants are able to adjust their fascial expression to address various signs of pain. With development, the infants/children are able to recognize anger reactions. Various emotions become learned and expressed throughout adulthood. <ref name=":1" />
 
The scale has been used by preoperational children, and those with juvenille arthritis       


== Scoring ==
== Scoring ==
A 0 point 'happy face' represents the absence or lack of pain. <ref name=":2">Zielinski Jakub, Morawska-Kochman Monika, Zatonski Tomasz. Pain assessment and management in children in the postoperative period: A review of the most commonly used postoperative pain assessment tools, new diagnostic methods and the latest guidelines for postoperative pain therapy in children. Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine. 2020:29(3):1-10.</ref>
A 10 point 'crying face' represents the worst possible or most excruciating pain. <ref name=":2" />
The child is instructed to point to the face that best represents the severity of pain that they are experiencing. <ref name=":1" /> <ref name=":2" />  Their response is associated with the number allocated to the chosen face. <ref name=":1" />


== Benefits ==
== Benefits ==
The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale is easy and quick to use. It is a nonverbal assessment, with minimal instructions required. <ref name=":1" />


== Implications/Limitations ==
== Implications/Limitations ==
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== Validity ==
== Validity ==
The Faces Pain Scale shows reliability and consistency when pain ratings are assigned by children, especially as they are associated with related pain experiences. <ref name=":1" /> 


== Resources  ==
== Resources  ==

Revision as of 12:18, 21 October 2022

Original Editor - Kapil Narale


Top Contributors - Kapil Narale and Lucinda hampton  

This article or area is currently under construction and may only be partially complete. Please come back soon to see the finished work! (21/10/2022)

Introduction - what it is, what it measures[edit | edit source]

It is a generally accepted fact that the measurement of pain in Children, by Healthcare Professionals, is a very difficult task. This is because of children's varying levels of language, communication, and development, and the way in which they express pain, compared to an adult. [1] One way of measuring pain in Children is by using scales of various facial expressions, and associating their pain level to a similar face. Once such scale commonly preferred by children and parents for reporting pain severity is the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale. [2]


The use of a 'faces scale' should not need to incorporate the intervention of an adult explaining the scale, the faces, or how to interpret the pictures. [1]

Audience[edit | edit source]

The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale can be confidently used by children as young as 3 years old. [1]

It is assumed that children as young as 4 years old should be able to distinguish fascial expressions related to pain, and identify the severity. [1]

The purpose of this scale is to impose a reduced cognitive burden on children, and thus it is designed for very young children. It is assumed that children are capable of recognizing facial expressions rather than verbal or numerical ratings (as on other pain scales). It is noted that by the age of 4 and 5, children have the capability to identify and distinguish various facial fesatues and fascial patterns of different general emotions. [1]

It is noted that young infants are able to adjust their fascial expression to address various signs of pain. With development, the infants/children are able to recognize anger reactions. Various emotions become learned and expressed throughout adulthood. [1]

The scale has been used by preoperational children, and those with juvenille arthritis

Scoring[edit | edit source]

A 0 point 'happy face' represents the absence or lack of pain. [3]

A 10 point 'crying face' represents the worst possible or most excruciating pain. [3]

The child is instructed to point to the face that best represents the severity of pain that they are experiencing. [1] [3] Their response is associated with the number allocated to the chosen face. [1]

Benefits[edit | edit source]

The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale is easy and quick to use. It is a nonverbal assessment, with minimal instructions required. [1]

Implications/Limitations[edit | edit source]

Wen used on children in the Emergency Department at the Hospital, the most common selected Face was the 'hurts even more', which is associated with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score of 55. One-fifth of a study population of children in the emergency department reported a VAS score of 80. However, many of these children did not select the 'worst hurt' face. It is seen that identifying the faces on the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale are emotionally driven, which may be misidentified as non-painful emotions, and thus may skew severity reporting. [2]

Another study found that the inclusion of a smiling face drove pain ratings away from the 'no pain' end of the spectrum. [2]

It was seen that children under 10 years old were unable to properly identify the feelings of pain, anxiety, and emotions. Pre-operative children were seen to select faces other than the smiling face. Sometimes after surgery, such as abdominal surgery, children were seen to choose the smiling face. Thus it is seen that children's interpretation for pain may be ndicatinf ear, which is not the intention of the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale. [2]

Children's understanding of the Faces Pain Scale[edit | edit source]

It is seen that children aged 6 and 8 years old were able to identify facial expression by analysis of the eyes and mouth. They were seen to have a clear understanding of pain, and how to identify different levels or types of pain. [1]

Validity[edit | edit source]

The Faces Pain Scale shows reliability and consistency when pain ratings are assigned by children, especially as they are associated with related pain experiences. [1]

Resources[edit | edit source]

  • bulleted list
  • x

or

  1. numbered list
  2. x

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Bieri Daiva, Reeve Robert A, Champion G. David, Addicoat Louise, Ziegler John B. The Faces Pain Scale for the self-assessment of the severity of pain experienced by children: development, initial Validation, and preliminary investigation for ratio scale properties. Pain. 1990:41:139-150.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Garra Gregory, Singer Adam J, Domingo Anna, Thode Henry C. The Wong-Baker Pain FACES Scale Measures Pain, Not Fear. Pediatric Emergency Care. 2013:29(1):17-20.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Zielinski Jakub, Morawska-Kochman Monika, Zatonski Tomasz. Pain assessment and management in children in the postoperative period: A review of the most commonly used postoperative pain assessment tools, new diagnostic methods and the latest guidelines for postoperative pain therapy in children. Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine. 2020:29(3):1-10.