Italian versions of the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ): psychometric properties and an investigation on the understanding of pain neurophysiology in physical therapists

Massimo Esposto; Leonardo Pellicciari; Simone Cecchetto; Alessandro Chiarotto; Marco Testa; Andrea Turolla; Andrea Polli

doi:10.1016/j.msksp.2024.102957

Italian versions of the Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ): psychometric properties and an investigation on the understanding of pain neurophysiology in physical therapists

Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2024 Apr 10:72:102957. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2024.102957. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Massimo Esposto¹, Leonardo Pellicciari², Simone Cecchetto³, Alessandro Chiarotto⁴, Marco Testa⁵, Andrea Turolla⁶, Andrea Polli⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine and Health Science "Vincenzo Tiberio", University of Molise, C/o Cardarelli Hospital, C/da Tappino, 86100, Campobasso, Italy.
² IRCCS Istituto Delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: leonardo.pellicciari@gmail.com.
³ Health Professional and Rehabilitation Service APSS Trento, Trento, Italy.
⁴ Department of General Practice, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genova, Genova, Italy.
⁶ Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; Unit of Occupational Medicine, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
⁷ Pain in Motion Research Group, Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology, and Anatomy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Centre for Environment & Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), Belgium.

PMID: 38642475
DOI: 10.1016/j.msksp.2024.102957

Abstract

Objectives: The Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) is widely used to assess pain knowledge among clinicians and patients with pain, but an Italian version is not available. This study aimed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the NPQ into Italian, to test its psychometric properties, to assess the knowledge of Italian physical therapists (PTs) on pain, and to evaluate which characteristics are associated with pain knowledge.

Methods: The NPQ was translated into Italian, integrated with some additional questions (IT-NPQ-New), and sent by email via the Italian Association of Physiotherapy newsletter. Rasch analysis (RA) was used to test the psychometric properties of the Italian versions. Multivariable regression analyses were used to check for associations between participants' characteristics and their NPQ scores.

Results: A sample of 753 PTs completed the survey. RA of the NPQ-19 and IT-NPQ-New revealed that 10 (IT-NPQ-10) and 18 (IT-NPQ-18) items fit the model. Both questionnaires showed good psychometric properties. The overall median score among Italian PTs was 6.0 [5.0-7.0] and 11.0 [9.0-13.0] points for the IT-NPQ-10 and the IT-NPQ-18, respectively. These scores were statistically different among groups according to gender, age, years of professional activity, post-graduate specialization and days attended of targeted pain courses, with the latter being the most influential variable.

Conclusions: Italian PTs now dispose of two tools to assess their basic knowledge related to pain science. Our study also showed that pain knowledge among Italian PTs needs improvement, especially considering recent biopsychosocial approaches to pain.

Keywords: Knowledge; Pain; Physical therapist; Questionnaire; Translation.