Pain stages of change questionnaire - Brazil: a study on cross-cultural adaptation and evaluation of measurement properties in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain

Abstract

The Pain Stages of Change Questionnaire (PSOCQ) was developed to evaluate readiness of the individual to adopt a self-management strategy for chronic pain. To cross-culturally adapt and assess the measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the PSOCQ in patients with Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP). A total of 150 participants participated in the study. Construct validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) as well as Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 3,1 ) and Cronbach’s alpha (α), respectively. In addition, the Standard Error of Measurement and the Smallest Detectable Change (SDC) were calculated. The adapted version maintained its equivalence and applicability in the Brazilian context. The PSOCQ-Br demonstrated acceptable structural validity indexes through CFA for a model with 4 subscales. Cronbach’s alpha for each PSOCQ-Br subscale was greater than 0.7. The ICC for each subscale was also above 0.7 (95%CI 0.72–0.85). The SDC estimates for Pre-contemplation, Contemplation, Action, and Maintenance were, respectively, 0.97, 1.08, 1.03, and 1.05. The hypothesis of construct validity was confirmed for all scales, contemplation (83%), action (94%), and maintenance (83%), except for the pre-contemplation scale, in which only 72% of the hypotheses were confirmed. The PSOCQ-Br demonstrated adequate measurement properties that were comparable to the original version in English and in other languages. Therefore, it can be recommended for use in clinical practice and research to assess the readiness for change in individuals with CLBP.