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The Suffering Pictogram: Measuring Suffering in Palliative Care
Tan Seng Beng1, Yee Hway Ann2, Ng Chong Guan2
11 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .
Background:
Measuring suffering objectively presents a challenge because suffering is a unique and subjective experience. However, objective tools are of profound importance in the detection and management of suffering in clinical practice for optimal patient care.
Objective:
The objective of the study is to assess the psychometric properties of the Suffering Pictogram, a new suffering assessment instrument on a population of palliative care patients.
Design And Setting:
This is a validation study conducted at University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ninety one palliative care patients were recruited. Patients were interviewed with the Suffering Pictogram and FACIT-Sp.
Results:
The median completion time for the Suffering Pictogram was five minutes. The Suffering Pictogram showed good internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.836. The total scores of the Suffering Pictogram correlated strongly and negatively with FACIT-Sp total score (Spearman's Rho = -0.625, p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
The Suffering Pictogram is a brief, reliable, and valid instrument to measure suffering in palliative care. The instrument can be used as a screening tool to detect suffering directly.
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