The assessment of pain quality: an item response theory analysis
- PMID: 20211439
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2009.07.014
The assessment of pain quality: an item response theory analysis
Abstract
Item Response Theory (IRT) is being increasingly used to develop and evaluate outcome measures. However, many pain measures, including those that assess pain quality, have yet to be evaluated from the IRT perspective. The current study evaluated the scales of a commonly used measure of pain quality (the Pain Quality Assessment Scale, or PQAS) using IRT analyses in 3 samples of patients with chronic pain. The findings indicated variability in the precision of the scales, suggesting that all 3 of the PQAS scales are precise when pain is severe and that the Paroxysmal and Deep scales but not necessarily the Surface scale are precise when pain is of moderate or lower severity. In addition, 2 potential problems with the 11 (ie, 0 to 10) response levels used for the PQAS items were identified: (1) a high degree of overlap between adjacent response levels and (2) a lack of interval scaling. Research is needed to determine the extent to which these problems do, or do not, threaten the validity of the PQAS items and scales as outcome measures in pain clinical trials.
Perspective: IRT analyses provide important information about the psychometric and practical qualities of pain measures that is not provided by standard (classical test theory) analyses. IRT analyses of the PQAS subscales indicate that some of the scales are more precise than others at different levels of pain severity and provide important directions for further research to better understand the PQAS. IRT analyses would probably similarly provide important information concerning the utility of other measures commonly used in pain research.
Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Similar articles
-
The pain quality response profile of oxymorphone extended release in the treatment of low back pain.Clin J Pain. 2009 Feb;25(2):116-22. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e3181817ac8. Clin J Pain. 2009. PMID: 19333156 Clinical Trial.
-
Health-related quality of life in early breast cancer.Dan Med Bull. 2010 Sep;57(9):B4184. Dan Med Bull. 2010. PMID: 20816024
-
Development of a multidimensional measure for recurrent abdominal pain in children: population-based studies in three settings.Pediatrics. 2005 Feb;115(2):e210-5. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-1412. Pediatrics. 2005. PMID: 15687428
-
The measurement of patients' expectations for health care: a review and psychometric testing of a measure of patients' expectations.Health Technol Assess. 2012 Jul;16(30):i-xii, 1-509. doi: 10.3310/hta16300. Health Technol Assess. 2012. PMID: 22747798 Review.
-
Psychometric methods for measuring pain.Clin Neuropsychol. 2013;27(1):30-48. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2012.739203. Epub 2012 Nov 26. Clin Neuropsychol. 2013. PMID: 23181338 Review.
Cited by
-
Association of Perioperative Regional Analgesia with Postoperative Patient-Reported Pain Outcomes and Opioid Requirements: Comparing 22 Different Surgical Groups in 23,911 Patients from the QUIPS Registry.J Clin Med. 2021 May 19;10(10):2194. doi: 10.3390/jcm10102194. J Clin Med. 2021. PMID: 34069496 Free PMC article.
-
Measurement Equivalence of the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS®) Pain Interference Short Form Items: Application to Ethnically Diverse Cancer and Palliative Care Populations.Psychol Test Assess Model. 2016;58(2):309-352. Psychol Test Assess Model. 2016. PMID: 28983449 Free PMC article.
-
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on chronic pain in Spain: a scoping review.Pain Rep. 2021 Feb 16;6(1):e899. doi: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000000899. eCollection 2021 Jan-Feb. Pain Rep. 2021. PMID: 33615089 Free PMC article.
-
Modifiable motion graphics for capturing sensations.PLoS One. 2020 Feb 24;15(2):e0229139. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229139. eCollection 2020. PLoS One. 2020. PMID: 32092081 Free PMC article.
-
Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy in Cancer Survivors.J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017 Aug;54(2):204-218.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.12.342. Epub 2017 Jan 4. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017. PMID: 28063866 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources