Using colors to assess pain in toddlers: validation of "the rainbow pain scale"-a proof-of-principle study.

Using colors to assess pain in toddlers: validation of "the rainbow pain scale"-a proof-of-principle study.

Mahon P; Holsti L; Siden H; Strahlendorf C; Turnham L; Giaschi D

Journal Of Pediatric Oncology Nursing : Official Journal Of The Association Of Pediatric Oncology Nurses

2014

Color; Age Factors; Child; Child Preschool; Female; Humans; Infant; Inpatients/psychology; Male; Neoplasms/psychology; Oncology; Oncology Nursing/methods; Outpatients/psychology; Pain; Pain/diagnosis/psychology; Pain Measurement/methods; Pain Scale; Pediatric Nursing/methods; Preschool Children; Psychometrics/instrumentation; Self Report

Self-report, when available, is considered the ideal way to assess the intensity and other aspects of pain in children. However, self-report scales are often too complex cognitively for preschool-aged children (2-4 years). The Rainbow Pain Scale (RPS) was developed to provide individualized self-reported pain ratings for preschool-aged children. The psychometric properties of this scale have yet to be evaluated. To ensure validity, our first step was to compare RPS scores to a well-validated scale in older children who were able to self-report their pain. The purpose of this study was to assess the concurrent validity of the RPS in children aged 5 to 10 years as proof of principle. We compared ratings of 49 children's pain using the RPS with those on the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R). Participants suffering from pain related to cancer and cancer treatment were recruited to complete both scales at 3 time points, during both inpatient and outpatient clinic visits. Pearson's r and Cohen's kappa were used to evaluate the level of association between the scales. The association between RPS and the

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