Beyond pain intensity: Validating single-item pain bothersomeness measures

Area of Science:

• Pain Medicine
• Psychology
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Chronic pain assessment often relies solely on pain intensity, which is insufficient for understanding its full impact.
• Existing pain bothersomeness scales lack comprehensive validation.
• There is a need for validated, low-burden measures to assess the impact of chronic pain on daily life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the concurrent, discriminant, and predictive validity of two single-item pain bothersomeness scales.
• To assess the utility of these scales in measuring the impact of chronic pain on patient functioning.
• To determine if these measures can aid in improving chronic pain care.

Main Methods:

• Data were collected from 633 adults with mixed-etiology chronic pain.
• Pearson correlations assessed relationships between pain bothersomeness items and 20 functioning measures.
• ANOVAs and linear regressions analyzed the discriminative and predictive validity of the scales over three months.

Main Results:

• Both single-item pain bothersomeness scales showed significant correlations with 19 functioning measures.
• The scales effectively discriminated between eight distinct patient functioning groupings.
• These items predicted worse pain interference, catastrophizing, depression, and social functioning at three months.

Conclusions:

• Single-item pain bothersomeness measures demonstrate robust concurrent, discriminant, and predictive validity.
• These low-burden assessments provide valuable insights into patient functioning in clinical settings.
• The findings suggest these scales can enhance the care of individuals with chronic pain.