Evaluation of Effectiveness of Graphics Interchange Format and Wong–Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale as Pain Assessment Tool in Children
Shruti Balasubramanian, Henpu Kamki, Ritesh Kalaskar
Abstract
AIM: The objective of this preliminary study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the graphics interchange format (GIF) as a self-reporting pain assessment tool in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: observational study, pain assessment of 42 children aged 7-13 years with a chief complaint of dental pain reporting the first time to the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Government Dental College & Hospital, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India, were included. Informed consent was obtained from the parents or guardians. All the responses were obtained by a single practitioner, after showing the respective self-reporting pain scale, that is, Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale (WBFPRS) and GIF pain scale. A questionnaire study was performed at the end of the study. The data were recorded, and then statistical analyses were performed. RESULTS: = 0.710) with actual pain intensity. In the questionnaire study, most children strongly agreed that the GIF pain scale is easier to understand than WBFPRS. CONCLUSION: The GIF pain scale is a very promising self-report pain assessment tool for children. Further research on improving the GIF pain scale is very important. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The newly devised GIF pain scale seems to be a very promising self-report pain scale for effective determination of pain experienced by the patient.