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Updated: Jul 15, 2025

Author Spotlight: Quantifying Pain Experience – An Illustrative Approach Using the Pain Body Diagram
Published on: July 7, 2023
Exploring the Role of Pictograms in the Comprehension of Pain
Piotr Merks1, Regis Vaillancourt2, Irene Dulai2
1Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Introduction:
Pain is both difficult to see and to articulate and this is challenging for both patients and clinicians. The aim of this study was to develop and test pictograms to describe different pain qualities.
Methods:
22 pictograms were developed for evaluation based on pain qualities of the short form McGill Pain Questionnaire, version 2 (SF-MPQ-2). An online matching survey was conducted and disseminated via social media in 2021.
Results:
An overall matching of 66% or higher between pictogram and pain qualities descriptors was considered a proper matching. This study was carried out internationally (males = 57, age=41y.o. ±16; females = 155, age=41y.o.±17) and in Poland (males=49, age =35y.o.±17; females = 164, age=35y.o.±16). There were 14 pictograms that did not achieve 66% matching in any country. 8 pictograms mutually in all subgroups achieved a matching score of ≥66% regardless of geographic location, sex, income, or education level.
Discussion And Conclusions:
These 8 pictograms can be used clinically once they have been redrawn to improve consistency, and future research in the design of pictograms representing pain qualities of the SF-MPQ-2 should focus on design improvements for the remaining 14 pain qualities with poor comprehensibility.
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