A nurse is collecting data from an infant who is postoperative. Which of the following pain scales should the nurse use to evaluate the infant's pain level?

A. "Your nurse will provide information about the risks and benefits of surgical procedures.": This statement relates to informed consent and patient education rather than confidentiality. While important for care, it does not address the privacy of the client’s medical information.

B. "Only health care staff providing care will see your medical record.": Confidentiality ensures that a client’s personal health information is protected and only accessed by authorized personnel involved in their care. Emphasizing this reassures the client that their information is safeguarded and not shared inappropriately.

C. "The provider must grant you access to your personal health information.": Clients have a legal right to access their own medical records without requiring provider permission, according to HIPAA regulations. Denying access misrepresents patient rights.

D. "You have to authorize our providers to prescribe treatments for your condition.": Authorization to prescribe treatment is part of consent and care planning, not confidentiality. This statement does not inform the client about how their personal health information is protected or shared.

A. FACES: The FACES pain scale uses facial expressions that correspond to numeric ratings, but it is designed for children who are typically 3 years of age or older and can cognitively associate faces with levels of pain. Infants cannot reliably use this tool because they lack the developmental ability to self-report.

B. FLACC: The FLACC scale (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability) is validated for assessing pain in infants and young children who cannot verbally communicate. It evaluates observable behaviors such as facial grimacing, limb movement, activity level, crying, and consolability, providing an objective measure of pain intensity in nonverbal populations.

C. Oucher: The Oucher scale is a self-report tool that uses photographs of children’s faces to represent pain intensity, appropriate for children around 3 to 12 years old. Infants cannot use this scale reliably because they cannot interpret or select images to indicate their pain level.

D. Visual analog: The visual analog scale requires the child or adult to mark a point along a line to represent pain intensity. It relies on abstract reasoning and self-reporting and is not suitable for infants or nonverbal children, as they cannot understand or accurately use this method.