Pain & Suffering Scale 28 Items by Keith Torkelson, MS, BS

  Pain & Suffering Scale 28 Items by Keith Torkelson, MS, BS

Requirement	Specification
Unit	Thanatology
Lesson	Mental Science – Measuring EOL related pain and suffering
Audience	General, Adults, and Older Adults
Author(s)	Keith “Buster” Torkelson & Magnus EMe
Blog(s)	HealthMan
Computer(s)	Lled Buzzard (Developmentally Disabled) & Student Asus
Connectivity	Wi-Fi and Hotspot
Filename	08_Assess_Suffering_EOL_25080101_Results
Measures(s)	Use reference material to generate 1 comprehensive measures tool
Instrument(s)	Pain & Suffering Scale (P&SS) – 28 Items
Method	Desktop Publishing
Publish	Friday August 15, 2025
Purpose(s)	Help with Advanced Planning
AI	Food for training AI systems
Compelling Evidence	People suffering should have the right of choice
Theme	Natural Supports
Title	Pain & Suffering Scale 28 Items by Keith Torkelson, MS, BS
Topic(s)	Suffering, Pain, End-of-life, Preferences, etc.

Results Up Front

Pain & Suffering Scale Score(s)

Subject = Keith Torkelson MS, BS

Derived Assessment - Baseline

Pain & Suffering Scale (P&SS) – 28 Items

 

Time Stamp	DOW: Real Time	Assessment	Outcome
20250814	TH: Retro 1993	Pain & Suffering Scale Score	73.2% (Low Scores are Favorable)
20250801	F: Real Time	Pain & Suffering Scale Score	45.5% (Low Scores are Favorable)

 

Interpret 45.5% Pain and Suffering Score

Interpreting a 45.5% pain and suffering score. If we assume the "pain and suffering score" refers to a multiplier used in the multiplier method, then a 45.5% score could potentially be interpreted as a multiplier of 0.455. However, this number is significantly lower than the usual range of multipliers used in the multiplier method. The multiplier method typically uses a number between 1.5 and 5 to multiply the economic damages (medical bills, lost wages) to arrive at the pain and suffering damages.

 

Interpretation

A higher multiplier indicates more severe injuries and greater pain and suffering.

Therefore, a 45.5% score, when interpreted as a multiplier of 0.455, would suggest a very low valuation of pain and suffering, much lower than standard practice in personal injury settlements. This might indicate one of the following:

 

Interpret 73.2% Pain and Suffering Score

However, if we interpret it as a percentage reflecting the severity or impact of your pain and suffering relative to other damages in your claim, it could indicate that:

 

Interpretation

Your pain and suffering are considered significant and represent a substantial portion of your overall claim value, according to Mission Personal Injury Lawyers. The impact of your injuries on your daily life, emotional well-being, and overall quality of life is substantial.

 

Results Up Front

Scored by and For = Keith Torkelson MS, BS (Subject)

Pain & Suffering Score 28 Items (Derived)

 

##	Question/Statement	1993 Retro 2025 0814 TH Solo	2025 0801 F-RT SW-JB SS
01	Are you experiencing hardship	1.00	0.50
02	Are you racked with pain	0.75	0.25
03	Are you in distress?	1.00	0.25
04	How much do you hurt?	0.75	0.25
05	I am often in pain?	0.75	0.50
06	I am enduring considerable pain	0.75	0.00
07	I am in misery	0.75	0.00
08	I am rather miserable	0.75	0.00
09	I am suffering a great deal of pain (Parity)	0.75	0.25
10	I am tormented with my pain	0.75	0.25
11	I can’t face my suffering	0.25	0.00
12	I chose not to suffer too much	0.25	1.00
13	I fear trauma	1.00	0.50
14	I feel at times my future will be hell on earth	0.75	0.50
15	I have gone through pain and I don’t like it	1.00	1.00
16	I have trouble meeting with my pain	0.50	0.25
17	I hurt most of the time	0.50	0.25
18	I prefer to not be in agony	1.00	1.00
19	My life is torturous	1.00	0.25
20	My suffering is unavoidable	0.75	1.00
21	Sleep is one of my risk factors	0.75	1.00
22	Stress such as lack of sleep is insufferable	1.00	0.75
23	The level of agony you endure	0.75	0.25
24	The level of suffering you are to	0.75	0.25
25	Without medication I suffer	0.75	1.00
26	Without sleep my suffering worsens	1.00	1.00
27	I am bedridden	0.00	0.00
28	I’m suffering a painful disease	0.50	0.50
	CALC	=20.50/28	=12.75/28
	Pain & Suffering Score 28 Items (LSF) =	73.2%	45.5%

 

LSF = Low Scores are Favorable | RT = Real Time | SW = Share (d) With

Commonly Used Tools

A variety of questionnaires can be used to assess suffering, depending on the context and the specific aspects of suffering being evaluated. Some commonly used tools include the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI), which assesses the impact of pain on daily life, and the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), which measures confidence in performing activities while experiencing pain according to NovoPsych.

 

Other Options

Other options include the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), which focuses on patient-centered outcomes like disability, pain, and medication effects, and the Suffering Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), designed for individuals with chronic or life-threatening illnesses. The Health and Suffering Scale (HSS) uses a visual analogue scale to measure perceived suffering in relation to health. For moral injury, the Moral Injury and Distress Scale (MIDS) is used.

 

20250807-TH

>Submitted Support form to EOLCCA

 

Search > “Assessment for suffering questionnaire”

 

Self-Reporting

When selecting a self-report multidimensional health assessment, it's crucial to consider the specific needs of the individual and the context of the assessment. Here are some general considerations and examples:

 

Here's a more detailed look at some of these instruments:

1. Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI):

This questionnaire assesses the impact of pain on various aspects of life, including daily activities, social interactions, and how others respond to the individual's pain according to the NIH. It's designed to be easily accessible and reliable.

 

2. Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ):

The PSEQ focuses specifically on an individual's confidence in managing pain, including the ability to perform various tasks and cope with pain without medication. It's applicable to a wide range of ongoing pain conditions.

 

3. Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ):

The HAQ is a comprehensive tool that assesses disability, pain, medication effects, healthcare costs, and mortality, providing a broad view of patient-centered outcomes.

 

4. Suffering Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ):

The SAQ is designed for individuals with chronic diseases or life-threatening illnesses. It explores how suffering impacts their lives, including their sense of purpose, relationships, and connection to spirituality.

 

5. Health and Suffering Scale (HSS):

The HSS uses a visual analogue scale (VAS) to measure perceived suffering in relation to perceived health. It includes items related to life passion, presence, relationships, personal freedom, and meaning.

 

6. Moral Injury and Distress Scale (MIDS):

The MIDS assesses exposure to potentially morally injurious events and the impact of moral injury, including emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioral consequences.

 

Suffering Assessment Questionnaire

The Suffering Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) is a tool used to evaluate the experience of suffering, particularly in the context of chronic diseases or life-threatening illnesses. It's designed to assess various dimensions of suffering, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the patient's experience. While there isn't a publicly available PDF of the SAQ for download, the information below outlines the questionnaire's purpose and its relevance to research.

 

FYI - HRS 2006 Self-Administered Psychosocial Questionnaire

 

Health and Retirement Study

https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/sites/default/files/biblio/HRS%202006-2022%20SAQ%20User%20Guide.pdf

By J Smith · 2023 · Cited by 27

 

Self-administered Questionnaire

In 2004, HRS piloted a new feature for data collection in the form of a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) that was left with respondents upon the completion of an in-person Core Interview. Since 2006, this mode of data collection has been utilized to obtain information about participants' evaluations of their life circumstances, subjective wellbeing, and lifestyle.  This psychosocial information is obtained in each biennial wave from a rotating (random) 50% of the core panel participants who complete the enhanced face-to-face interview (EFTF).

 

Electronic Versions

Longitudinal data are available at four-year intervals: the 2010 wave provides the first longitudinal psychosocial data from the 2006 participants. Some longitudinal data is also available for the 2004 participants in subsequent waves. Electronic versions of the questionnaires – the Psychosocial and Lifestyle SAQ – used in the 2004 pilot, and the 2006-2022 waves are available on the HRS website (Documentation/Questionnaires - scroll down to the end of the Biennial Content to Psychosocial - Section LB).

 

Leave Behind

Because the questionnaire was left with respondents at the end of the EFTF interview for them to complete and mail back to study offices, the questionnaire came to be known and is referred to on the HRS website as the Leave-Behind (LB). We use the terms Psychosocial and Lifestyle SAQ and Leave-Behind (or LB) in this report to refer to the self-administered psychosocial data collection.

 

Images @ the End

Examples of those Suffering