An Evaluation of Chronic Pain Questionnaires in the Adult Population

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Considering pain's subjectivity, measurement and its processes are indispensable to clinicians and researchers. Development and testing methods of recently published chronic pain questionnaires were analyzed to determine the state of measurement in chronic pain. METHODS: There were 8 questionnaires analyzed against 28 criteria, which combined specific testing standards and commonly accepted reliability statistics. RESULTS: Only 1 questionnaire received a rating of good method quality. The 7 remaining questionnaires received a rating of poor method quality. CONCLUSIONS: Newly developed chronic pain self-report questionnaires revealed deficiencies in construction and testing methods. It is proposed that an adapted version of the Standards of Educational and Psychological Testing serves as a useful guide for developing and testing new health questionnaires.