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FACES Pain Scale - Revised (FPS-R)  

Purpose:  To assess pain intensity in persons who are able to self report but are unable to use a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Some studies show African Americans and Asians prefer the FPS.
 
When to Use:

Use the FACES Pain Scale

  • At admission
  • At each quarterly nursing review
  • Each shift in resident with pain
  • Each time a change in resident pain status is reported
  • Following a pain intervention to evaluate treatment effectiveness
How to Use:

Instruct the elder that “The faces show how much pain or discomfort one is feeling.  The face on the left shows no pain. Each face shows more and more pain up to the last face that shows the worst pain possible.  Point to the face that shows how bad your pain is right NOW.” 

Then score the chosen face 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10, counting left to right, so '0' = 'no pain' and '10' = 'very much pain.'

NOTE: This tool is not to be used by the health care provider to look at the resident's facial expression and pick a face.

Documentation:Document/record all scores in a location that is readily accessible by other health care providers.
Note:

To use as a pocket guide, print the FACES Pain Scale and directions document  front to back on card stock paper to create two tools.  Cut to size and laminate for increased durability.

Additional information about the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) including instructions in 33 translations can be found at www.painsourcebook.ca.

References:Hicks, C, L., von Baeyer, C.L., Spafford, P.A., van KorlaarI., & Goodenough, B., (2001). The Faces Pain Scale–revised toward a common metric in pediatric pain measurement, Pain 93 (2001); 173–183. 

Editable WORD .doc
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