A validation study of the Cantonese Chinese version of short form McGill pain questionnaire 2 in Cantonese‐speaking patients with chronic pain in Hong Kong

Abstract

ObjectiveThe study tests the reliability and validity of the Cantonese Chinese version of Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire 2 (SF‐MPQ‐2‐CC).MethodsThe original Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF‐MPQ‐2) was translated into Cantonese Chinese version. Cantonese‐speaking chronic pain patients from three pain centers in Hong Kong were recruited and asked to complete SF‐MPQ‐2‐CC, validated Chinese versions of Identification Pain questionnaire (ID Pain), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and Short Form Health Survey (SF‐36) for evaluation of convergent and divergent validity, 2 weeks apart for evaluation of internal consistency.ResultsA total of 333 and 197 participants completed the first and second set of questionnaires, respectively. SF‐MPQ‐2‐CC was shown to have excellent internal consistency, with an overall Cronbach's alpha value of 0.933. The overall correlation coefficient was 0.875 that shows good test–retest reliability. Construct validity was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis, where a seconder‐order factor model demonstrated a good fit with our data (χ2 = 826.51, p < 0.001, CFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.908, RMSEA = 0.097; SRMR = 0.063; error terms adjusted). SF‐MPQ‐2‐CC also showed good convergent validity with Chinese versions of ID Pain (neuropathic pain) and PCS (continuous pain), and divergent validity was shown by a negative correlation with Chinese version of SF‐36.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated that SF‐MPQ‐2‐CC is a valid and reliable pain assessment tool for Cantonese‐speaking patients in Hong Kong with a wide range of chronic pain conditions. It also helps to identify the presence of neuropathic pain and negative pain cognition among respondents.