Validity and reliability study of the Clinically Aligned Pain Assessment Scale in Turkish population

This study aimed to translate the Clinically Aligned Pain Assessment (CAPA) Scale into Turkish, perform its cultural adaptation, and evaluate its validity and reliability in Turkish patients.

This single-center, cross-sectional study included a total of 105 patients with pain lasting at least one week between March 2026 and June 2026. The translation process followed standardized forward-backward procedures. Reliability was assessed using internal consistency and test-retest analysis (n = 68, 48-72 h). Construct validity was evaluated with exploratory factor analysis, and convergent validity was examined using Numeric Rating Scale (NRS).

Of a total of 105 participants, 37 were male and 68 were female with a mean age of 46.90 ± 11.974 (range, 23 to 71) years. In the study, the CAPA-TR showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.859) and excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.959). Item-total correlations were above 0.30 for all items. Floor and ceiling effects were below acceptable thresholds. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a single-factor structure explaining 66.2% of the total variance. No significant correlation was found between CAPA-TR scores and NRS.

Our study results suggest that CAPA-TR is a valid and reliable multidimensional tool for pain assessment in Turkish-speaking patients. It provides a practical and patient-centered approach that may support more comprehensive evaluation of pain in clinical practice.