Optimising Numeric Pain Rating Scale Administration for Children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Selection of Verbal Anchors to Improve Children’s Self Report Using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) of Pain Intensity
IRAS ID
149355
Contact name
Bernie Carter
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Central Lancashire
Research summary
A verbal numerical rating scale (NRS) is commonly used to obtain a self-report of pain intensity in school age children in order to ensure their pain is monitored and treated effectively. A particular version of this tool used with children, the NRS-11, includes eleven values; with 0 and 10 serving as the lowest and highest levels, respectively. When this scale is used with children, various verbal anchors are also commonly attached to the 0 and 10 levels to allow for increased comprehension of the meaning of the top and bottom levels of the scale. However, there are no standard or validated verbal phrases to explain the upper anchor (10/10) of the NRS to children. The primary purpose of this study is to determine how the verbal expressions used to anchor a NRS may influence the magnitude of children’s scores on the scale for self-report of pain. All consenting parents with assenting children will be eligible to participate. In order to determine the optimal top anchor, children, ages 6-12 (n=120), will be asked to report pain experienced during either a routine blood pressure monitoring procedure or a prescribed intramuscular injection within the Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. These procedures have been rated as mild and moderate-severe painful events, respectively, in a previous study. Each child will be administered four versions of the scale, for example, “Please rate how much the injection hurt on a 0 to 10 scale if 0 is no hurt, and 10 is the most hurt possible”. Child gives rating. “Okay. Now what if 10 means [different anchor]…“ such as “worst hurt you can imagine, Very much hurt, Hurt as bad as breaking your arm” in counterbalanced order. The resultant pain intensity values will be compared against each other for magnitude and variability.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0163
Date of REC Opinion
13 Mar 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion