Development and Validation of the Decisions to use Opioids Measure

Area of Science:

• Pain Management
• Opioid Research
• Patient Motivation Studies

Background:

• Millions suffer from inadequately managed acute pain annually.
• Reduced opioid prescriptions complicate pain management, while patient desires may increase opioid use.
• Understanding patient motivations for opioid use is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Decisions To use Opioids (DTO) measure.
• To characterize patient motivations driving opioid use in acute pain settings.

Main Methods:

• Employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods design.
• Qualitative data from interviews and focus groups informed item development.
• Content validity (CVI) and face validity (cognitive interviews) were assessed by experts and patients.

Main Results:

• An initial pool of 52 items was generated.
• 40 items demonstrated content validity with an item CVI ≥ 0.83.
• Nine conceptually significant items with CVI < 0.83 were retained and revised.

Conclusions:

• The DTO measure shows evidence of content and face validity for emergency department (ED) patients.
• Further psychometric evaluation is required for internal consistency, construct validity, and criterion validity.
• The DTO measure is a promising tool for understanding patient decision-making regarding opioid use.