WHOQOL Pain and Discomfort Module: development and validity testing of the Italian version.
BACKGROUND
The World Health Organization Quality of Life scale Pain and Discomfort Module (WHOQOL PDM) was designed to assess quality of life (QoL) in adults with chronic pain. It comprises 16 items covering four facets of pain: relief, anger/frustration, vulnerability/fear/worry, and uncertainty.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to validate the Italian version of the WHOQOL PDM.


METHODS
Chronic pain was assessed in 400 patients using the WHOQOL PDM and other pain scales, together with scales measuring associated symptoms, depression, anxiety, and QoL.


RESULTS
The WHOQOL PDM shows good internal consistency, concurrent validity (it was significantly associated with all the WHOQOL BREF domains), construct validity (it was significantly associated with other pain scales), and discriminant validity (there were significant differences among different groups of patients).


CONCLUSIONS
The Italian version of the WHOQOL PDM is a brief, useful, and valid tool for assessing chronic pain and its impact on patients' QoL.
Psychologist.
Maria Elena
ME
Boero
Anna L
AL
Melegari
Paola
P
Vizzuso
Vanda
V
Braida
Valentina
V
Panetta
Suzanne M
SM
Skevington
Victoria
V
Mason
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014175:Translating; D014944:World Health Organization