Nonverbal Assessment of Pain Workshop

Verbal self-report has historically been considered the gold standard of clinical assessments of pain, with some scholars suggesting that self-report is built in to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) definition of pain. However, the IASP definition also notes that the “inability to communicate verbally does not negate the possibility that an individual is experiencing pain” and there are many populations who likely are experiencing pain but are unable to verbally report that pain. Very young infants, patients experiencing advanced dementia or other cognitive impairments, and nonhuman animals all can be incapable of verbally reporting pain, and all are the subject of intense scientific debates regarding the best methods for assessing pain. Researchers studying these different populations grapple with how to assess the presence and severity of pain, sometimes using similar assessment techniques (e.g. facial expressions, biomarkers, and caretaker assessments), but there has been limited interaction between the different groups of researchers. This workshop would bring together scholars working on different non-verbal populations to share findings and approaches.

Please register by emailing Stacey.Herzer@ubc.ca