Geriatric Pain Measure short form: development and initial evaluation

Abstract

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

Design: 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.

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

Participants: 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.

Measurements: 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).

Conclusion: 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.