The development of a self‐report measure to assess the location and intensity of pain in people with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

The performance of a target group of 20 people with intellectual disability (ID) and a comparison group of 20 people who did not have ID was investigated on a series of tasks involving the judgement of the location of pain (on a bodymap) and the intensity of pain (on an analogue colour scale) in response to a series of photographs of simulated painful experiences. The results of the study indicated that: (1) there were no differences between the target and comparison groups in judging pain location for 93% of test items; (2) the performance of the target group in judging pain location was stable over time; (3) people with ID rated the pain images as more intense than the comparison group on all the 'mild' pain stimuli and 36% of the 'severe' pain stimuli; (4) the performance of the target group in judging pain intensity was logically consistent for 65% of comparisons (clear trends towards significance being apparent for a further 10% of items); (5) the performance of the target group in judging pain intensity was stable over time; and (6) the performance of the target group was unrelated to indicators of cognitive ability.

Proceed with Caution: Transition from Paper to Computerized Pain Body Maps

“…At the time the first PBM was developed and validated, there were no alternative platforms available [21,22,7,23]. Today we have several options, but the different platforms provide different opportunities and challenges which need to be addressed.…”

Sodium‐Valproate‐Induced Pancreatitis in a Man with Profound Intellectual Disability: the Significance of Diagnostic Difficulties

“…However, two recent studies have shown that practical advances can be made in assessing pain. In the first, a self‐report measure employing a visual analogue scale for intensity of pain and body maps for its location was successfully used in patients with intellectual disability (Bromley et al. 1998).…”

Psychosocial experiences of chronic illness in individuals with an intellectual disability

“…Bromley et al (1998) suggested that a combination of pictorial aids and pain indication screenings is most beneficial.…”