Psychology Commons^™

Assessment Of Acute Pediatric Pain, Don J. Bearden, Lindsey L. Cohen, Josie Welkom, Naomi Joffe

Psychology Faculty Publications

Accurate assessment of acute pediatric pain can help dispel myths that children’s experience of pain is less severe than that of adults, aid medical staff and clinicians in accurately diagnosing and treating children’s pain, and allow researchers to investigate pain and its correlates. A range of measures have been developed to quantify children’s acute pain. In general, these assessment tools are either self-report, behavioral observation, or physiological. Although there are a number of psychometrically sound instruments in each of these areas, there continues to be room for improvement.