FLACC Scale

Behavioral Pain Assessment for Non-Verbal Children

The FLACC Scale is a behavioral pain assessment tool used for non-verbal children or individuals with cognitive impairment. It observes five categories of behavior to determine pain intensity.

Year Created: 1997

Authors: Sandra I. Merkel, T. Voepel-Lewis, and S. Malviya.

Area of Use: Pediatric ICU, pediatrics, and post-operative care.

Criteria Assessed: Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability.

Used by?: Pediatricians and pediatric nurses.

Select the score for each criterion:

Bibliographic References:
  • Merkel, S. I., et al. (1997). The FLACC: a behavioral scale for scoring postoperative pain in young children. Pediatric Nursing, 23(3), 293-297.
  • Voepel-Lewis, T., et al. (2002). The FLACC scale: a tool for assessing postoperative pain in pediatric patients. American Journal of Nursing, 102(1), 58-60.