1Professor and HOD, Department of Neurophysiotherapy, KLEU Institute of Physiotherapy, Belagavi, Karnataka
2Professor, Department of Neurophysiotherapy, KLEU Institute of Physiotherapy, Belagavi, Karnataka
3MPT, Department of Neurophysiotherapy, KLEU Institute of Physiotherapy, Belagavi, Karnataka
Online published on 12 January, 2018.
The ability to measure pain objectively forms an important part of health care, both in chronic health monitoring and in acute settings, to determine changes in patient clinical presentation and the effectiveness of interventions aimed at alleviating pain.
The objective of the present study was to find validity and reliability of the pain assessment instrument (PAIN-NVHS) for normal, visually, hearing and speech impaired individuals.
Participants (n=40) with pain were randomly allocated to any of the four groups (normal, visually, hearing, or speech impaired) and the intensity of their pain level was examined with visual analogue scale (VAS) and PAIN-NVHS scores which were recorded by 2 therapists.
Karl Pearson analysis and Cohen's Kappa statistics showed excellent correlation and agreement between VAS and PAIN-NVHS scores as recorded by 2 raters in all the four groups implying excellent validity and inter rater reliability of PAIN-NVHS when compared to VAS.
The PAIN-NVHS is a valid and reliable tool to assess the pain level in normal (all sensations intact), visually, hearing and speech impaired individuals. Hence this cost effective digital instrument can be utilized in clinical settings to record the pain in patients with a variety of impairments.
Pain assessment instrument, cost effective, visually impaired, hearing impaired, speech impaired
