Development of a Cancer Pain Assessment Tool in Korea: A Validation Study of a Korean Version of the Brief Pain Inventory

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Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to validate the Korean version of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-K), a pain assessment tool that has been validated in several languages. Methods: The sample consisted of 132 patients in Seoul who had recurrent or metastatic cancer and who expressed pain. The Korean version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-K), the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status score, the Pain Management Index (PMI), and the PMI-Revised (PMI-R) were used to further validate the BPI-K. Results: Cronbach alphas, computed for the pain interference and pain severity item, were 0.93 and 0.85, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis of the BPI-K items showed a two-common-factor solution for the BPI-K, consistently demonstrated in other language versions of the BPI. The mean pain interference score was more correlated with the BDI-K scale (r = 0.44) and ECOG (r = 0.39) than the mean pain severity score. Seventy-four percent of the patients in the Seoul sample had inadequate analgesia using the PMI. Conclusion: The BPI-K is a valid and useful instrument for assessing cancer pain and pain impact in Korea. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.