Highlights
- •An initial psychometric evaluation of the Pain Concepts Questionnaire (PCQ).
- •The PCQ holds promise as a useful tool for examining pain beliefs.
- •Internal consistency was considered acceptable for the sample.
- •It is important to examine pain beliefs in pain assessment and treatment.
Abstract
The examination of pain beliefs for chronic pain assessment and treatment has been
a growing area of interest. A variety of questionnaires have been developed to assess
pain beliefs, however, these questionnaires often require high levels of literacy
and education. The pain concepts questionnaire (PCQ) was developed with literacy-adaptations
to better evaluate pain beliefs in a low socioeconomic (SES) population. This study
is an initial exploratory evaluation of the PCQ in a sample of patients with chronic
pain and multiple disparities as part of the learning about my pain (LAMP) trial,
a randomized controlled trial comparing literacy-adapted psychosocial treatments for
chronic pain. All data were collected at pretreatment. Exploratory factor analysis
was performed to examine the underlying factor structure of the PCQ and cross-sectional
correlational analyses examined relationships between pain beliefs with sociodemographic
factors and chronic pain-related variables. Results suggested a 2-factor solution
with a Biopsychosocial factor and Biomedical factor. Consistent with the literature,
correlational analyses highlighted racial and SES disparities in pain beliefs and
the importance of beliefs in pain- and cognitive/affective-related functioning. The
study emphasizes the importance of pain beliefs in chronic pain management and recommends
future research to further examine additional psychometric properties of the PCQ.
Perspective
This study is an initial evaluation of the psychometric properties of a new measure
of chronic pain beliefs, the pain concepts questionnaire (PCQ). The PCQ is literacy-adapted
and was assessed within a low-SES population. Psychometric proprieties of this measure
were promising and could be useful in pain assessment and interventions.
Key words
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 26, 2020
Accepted:
May 10,
2020
Received in revised form:
January 31,
2020
Received:
September 4,
2019
Footnotes
Disclosures: Ms. Newman discloses financial support for conference registration and travel from the American Pain Society, the International Association for the Study of Pain, and the University of Alabama. Dr. Morais discloses financial support for conference registration and travel from the American Pain Society, the International Association for the Study of Pain, the University of Alabama, and the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (T32AG049673). Dr. Van Dyke discloses financial support for conference registration and travel from the American Pain Society, the International Association for the Study of Pain, the University of Alabama, and Geisinger. Dr. Thorn discloses book royalties from Guilford Publications, fees for consultation and training from the Pittsburgh Veteran's Administration, speaker's fees from Wellspan/Philhaven Health System, travel funds from Geisinger, travel funds from the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, and co-investigator and consultation fees from the National Institutes of Health. The authors do not have any other conflicts of interest to report.
Funding: Research reported in this publication was funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Award (Thorn, PI, Contract # 941; clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01967342). The statements presented in this work are solely the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), its Board of Governors or Methodology Committee. The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers, and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continually seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.
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© 2020 by United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc.
