Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026
Determining Pain Detection and Tolerance Thresholds Using an Integrated, Multi-Modal Pain Task Battery
Published on: April 14, 2016
Electronic diaries for monitoring chronic pain: 1-year validation study
Robert N Jamison1, Stephen A Raymond, Jonathan G Levine
1Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA Personal Health Technologies, 175 Portland Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA Lincoln Technologies, Inc., 315 Common Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA Department of Mind Body Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Electronic data collection for monitoring pain has become increasingly popular in clinical research. However, no direct comparison has been made between electronic diaries and self-report paper diaries or phone interviews. We asked 36 patients with chronic low back pain to monitor their pain for 1 year; 20 of them used both a palmtop computer and paper diaries, and 16 used paper diaries alone. All patients were called once a week and asked to rate their pain. Regression analyses with a measurement error model were run on hourly pain scores recorded by both palmtop computer and paper diaries. Ratings of pain intensity were highly reliable between data recorded with a palmtop computer and with data from paper diaries. Patients who monitored their pain with the palmtop computer entered data on average 6.75 times a week and were 89.9% compliant with daily monitoring throughout the year. Two-way messaging available through the palmtop computer seemed to encourage continued use of the device. Internal consistency of reporting and correlations with phone reports and standardized measures were highly significant, suggesting that data from electronic diaries are both reliable and valid. Patients using electronic diaries preferred them to paper diaries and showed much higher rates of compliance and satisfaction over the 1-year trial.
