Assessment of Pain-Related Fear in Indigenous Australian Populations Using the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9 (FPQ-9)

Manasi Murthy Mittinty; Pedro H R Santiago; Lisa Jamieson

doi:10.3390/ijerph19106256

Assessment of Pain-Related Fear in Indigenous Australian Populations Using the Fear of Pain Questionnaire-9 (FPQ-9)

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 20;19(10):6256. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19106256.

Authors

Manasi Murthy Mittinty¹, Pedro H R Santiago², Lisa Jamieson²

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, St Leonards, NSW 2050, Australia.
² Indigenous Oral Health Unit, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.

Abstract

In this study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ-9) in Indigenous Australian people. FPQ-9, a shorter version of the original Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III, was developed to support the demand for more concise scales with faster administration time in the clinical and research setting. The psychometric properties of FPQ-9 in Indigenous Australian participants (n = 735) were evaluated with network psychometrics, such as dimensionality, model fit, internal consistency and reliability, measurement invariance, and criterion validity. Our findings indicated that the original FPQ-9 three-factor structure had a poor fit and did not adequately capture pain-related fear in Indigenous Australian people. On removal of two cross-loading items, an adapted version Indigenous Australian Fear of Pain Questionnaire-7 (IA-FPQ-7) displayed good fit and construct validity and reliability for assessing fear of pain in a sample of Indigenous Australian people. The IA-FPQ-7 scale could be used to better understand the role and impact of fear of pain in Indigenous Australian people living with chronic pain. This could allow for more tailored and timely interventions for managing pain in Indigenous Australian communities.

Keywords: Aboriginal Health; chronic pain; disparity; fear of pain; rural area.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Australia
Fear*
Humans
Pain Measurement
Pain*
Phobic Disorders
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires

Supplementary concepts

Phobia, Specific

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council project Grant (APP1120215). However, the funding organization had no part in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of data, and preparation of the manuscript.