The Mahoney Pain Scale: Examining Pain and Agitation in Advanced Dementia
- 7 February 2008
- journal article
- other
- Published by SAGE Publications in American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias®
- Vol. 23 (3), 250-261
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1533317508317524
Abstract
Pain and distress are widespread for people with dementia. However, effective pain management is limited by the quality of assessment tools. In this study, the development and trial of the Mahoney Pain Scale, which aims to assess pain in advanced dementia and distinguish it from agitation is described. A total of 112 participants with advanced dementia who experienced either pain, agitation, neither or both were assessed via the Mahoney Pain Scale during a pleasant and aversive activity. The Mahoney Pain Scale demonstrated adequate interrater reliability and internal consistency. As predicted, participants experiencing pain and/or agitation obtained higher Mahoney Pain Scale scores during the aversive activity. Participants also differed with respect to their pattern of scores, and consequently, the Mahoney Pain Scale differentiated pain states from non-pain ones. The clinical impressions of nurses who trialed the tool were favorable; they reported that it seemed accurate and easy to use. Thus, the Mahoney Pain Scale may be useful for assessing pain in dementia.Keywords
This publication has 42 references indexed in Scilit:
- Psychometric Properties of the German “Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia Scale” (PAINAD-G) in Nursing Home ResidentsJournal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2007
- Pain in Severe Dementia: Self‐Assessment or Observational Scales?Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2006
- Tools for Assessment of Pain in Nonverbal Older Adults with Dementia: A State-of-the-Science ReviewJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2006
- Are nursing home patients with dementia diagnosis at increased risk for inadequate pain treatment?International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2005
- Assessment of agitation in elderly patients with dementia: correlations between informant rating and direct observationInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2004
- Evaluating persistent pain in long term care residents: what role for pain maps?Pain, 1998
- Assessing Patterns of Agitation in Alzheimerʼs Disease Patients with the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation InventoryAlzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 1997
- Assessing pain in elderly patients who cannot respond verballyJournal of Advanced Nursing, 1995
- Pain location: Validity and reliability of body outline markings by hospitalized children and adolescentsResearch in Nursing & Health, 1989
- Psychiatric assessment in medical long‐term care facilities: Reliability of commonly used rating scalesInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 1988