Geriatric Pain Measure short form: development and initial evaluation.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and evaluate a short form of the 24-item Geriatric Pain Measure (GPM) for use in community-dwelling older adults.


METHODS
Derivation and validation of a 12-item version of the GPM in a European and an independent U.S. sample of community-dwelling older adults.


METHODS
Three community-dwelling sites in London, United Kingdom; Hamburg, Germany; Solothurn, Switzerland; and two ambulatory geriatrics clinics in Los Angeles, California.


METHODS
European sample: 1,059 community-dwelling older persons from three sites (London, UK; Hamburg, Germany; Solothurn, Switzerland); validation sample: 50 persons from Los Angeles, California, ambulatory geriatric clinics.


METHODS
Multidimensional questionnaire including self-reported demographic and clinical information.


RESULTS
Based on item-to-total scale correlations in the European sample, 11 of 24 GPM items were selected for inclusion in the short form. One additional item (pain-related sleep problems) was included based on clinical relevance. In the validation sample, the Cronbach alpha of GPM-12 was 0.92 (individual subscale range 0.77-0.92), and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between GPM-12 and the original GPM was 0.98. The correlation between the GPM-12 and the McGill Pain Questionnaire was 0.63 (P<.001), similar to the correlation between the original GPM and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (Pearson r=0.63; P<.001). Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the GPM-12 covers three subfactors (pain intensity, pain with ambulation, disengagement because of pain).


CONCLUSIONS
The GPM-12 demonstrated good validity and reliability in these European and U.S. populations of older adults. Despite its brevity, the GPM-12 captures the multidimensional nature of pain in three subscales. The self-administered GPM-12 may be useful in the clinical assessment process and management of pain and in pain-related research in older persons.
Blozik
Eva
E
Department of Geriatrics and Institute of Scoial and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Stuck
Andreas E
AE
Niemann
Steffen
S
Ferrell
Bruce A
BA
Harari
Danielle
D
von Renteln-Kruse
Wolfgang
W
Gillmann
Gerhard
G
Beck
John C
JC
Clough-Gorr
Kerri M
KM
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000339:Affect; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards