Pain Assessment

A pain assessment includes the following:

• Location of the pain
• Frequency, quantity, duration, and severity of the pain
• Characteristics of the pain
• Detailed pain history (e.g., previous pain experiences and interventions for pain management)
• Factors that trigger and relieve the pain
• Diagnosis of the type and cause of the pain
• The person’s anticipation of pain, based on his or her previous experience of pain in specific situations (e.g., during treatment or while at rest)
• Functional limitation(s) resulting from the person’s pain