Reproducibility of pain manikins: a comparison of paper versus online questionnaires

Abstract

BackgroundIn epidemiological studies, pain location is often collected by paper questionnaire using blank body manikins, onto which participants shade the location of their pain(s). However, it is unknown how reliable these will transfer to online questionnaires. The aim of the current study was to determine agreement between online-and paper-based completion of pain manikins. Methods A total of 264 children, aged 15-18 years, completed both an online and a paper questionnaire. Participants were asked to identify the location of their pain by highlighting predefined body areas on a manikin (online) or by shading a blank version of the manikin (paper). The difference in the prevalence of 12 regional/ widespread pain conditions was determined, and agreement between online and paper questionnaires was assessed using prevalence-and bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Results For the majority of pain conditions, prevalence was higher when ascertained by paper questionnaire. However, for the most part, the difference in prevalence was modest (range: −1.1 to 5.7%) the exceptions being hip/thigh pain (difference: 10.6%) and upper back pain (difference: 14.8%). For most pain locations, there was good or very good agreement between paper and online manikins (PABAK range: 0.61 to 0.88). However, identification of pain in the hip/thigh and in the upper back had poorer agreement (PABAK: 0.49 and 0.29, respectively). Conclusions This is the first study to examine the reproducibility of body manikins on different media, in a populationbased survey. We have shown that online manikins can be used to capture data on pain location in a manner satisfactorily comparable to paper questionnaires.

The Graphical Index of Pain: a new web-based method for high-throughput screening of pain

“… 12 However, van den Hoven et al (2010) compared musculoskeletal pain prevalence data from manikins with data from written questions and concluded that the 2 approaches yield similar findings. 16 Pain location in population-based surveys seem to be captured in a comparable fashion on manikins administrated online vs paper and pencil, 9 and pain intensity measured by visual analogue scale seems to be similarly captured across administration modes. 10 , 13 Findings indicate that the response rate is similar in paper and pencil and online surveys, but with faster available data with online administration.…”

“…Interestingly, electronic tools seem to capture information about pain that is equivalent to paper and pencil assessments. 1 , 3 , 5 , 9 , 10 , 14 …”

Adaptation and validation of body maps for musculoskeletal pain location in patients with severe obesity

“…The interval must be sufficiently long so that the patient has no memory of the first measurement as this could influence the responses in the second session. Meanwhile, the interval should also be short enough that the underlying characteristic under investigation does not vary between the sessions [ 32 ]. Furthermore, a longer interval can reduce patient participation in the study.…”

“…The sample size is, according Terwee et al, 2007 [ 31 ]. We performed the tests with a 1-hour interval between the two applications [ 32 ]: original image and adapted image. The order of application was randomized, and in 50% of the participants, the original image was applied first, followed by the adapted image, but the order was reversed in the other 50%.…”

Painful Craniofacial/Cervical Surface Area and Continuous Headache After Military Concussion: A Morphometric Retrospective Cohort Study

“…23 Advances in technology may have increased the diagnostic accuracy of non-linguistic representation, but use in headache is not common. [39][40][41][42] Perhaps headache as a symptom and headache patients may present other challenges not yet met, 23,43,44 though studies have suggested that the amount of area of head pain associates with neuropsychological outcomes in headache but not, for instance, mood disorders.…”