In the COLDSPA assessment, what does severity specify?

In the COLDSPA assessment, severity specifically refers to how bad the pain is on a scale of 1 to 10. This component helps health care providers quantify the intensity of a patient's pain, allowing for a clearer understanding of its impact on the individual’s daily life and functioning. By using a numerical scale, it provides a standardized measure that can facilitate communication between the patient and the clinician, as well as assist in tracking changes in pain over time.

Other components of COLDSPA include characteristics of the pain, its duration, and the location, but severity directly addresses the intensity and level of distress caused by the pain, making it a critical aspect of the overall assessment process.