title: Use of the Greek McGill Pain Questionnaire in cancer patients.
abstract: Cancer directly causes pain and raises a significant clinical problem. Pain is the most dominant cause of suffering in cancer patients. The accurate assessment of pain is a prerequisite for its effective relief, and therefore, a universal methodology for the assessment of the pain status of a patient is required. There are many different methods and various instruments for the measurement of pain. The McGill Pain Questionnaire is a multidimensional instrument for the assessment of pain intensity and the multiple dimensions of the pain experience. Several translations and version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire exist. The Greek version was developed in Athens and has been tested for its use in cancer patients receiving palliative care. The Greek McGill Pain Questionnaire validation study provided preliminary evidence of the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Future studies are needed to confirm the validity of the instrument in order to render it fully utilizable for the assessment of pain caused by the diverse conditions experienced by Greek patients.
authors.affiliation: University of Athens, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Unit, Department of Radiology, University of Athens, School of Medicine, 27 Korinthias Street, 115 26 Athens, Greece. mistakidou@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Kyriaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mystakidou
authors.forename: Emmanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Katsouda
authors.forename: Efi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Parpa
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tsilika
authors.forename: Lambros
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vlahos