Validation of a Limitations in Daily Activities Scale for Chronic Pain.

Limitations in physical function and participation are important domains of assessment in chronic pain. In 1995, the International Association for the Study of Pain distributed a self-report measure of functional limitations. Although the questionnaire has been used in research studies, it has never been subjected to a thorough investigation of its measurement properties.

A Network Analysis of Depressive Symptoms in Individuals Seeking Treatment for Chronic Pain.

Objectives: Major depression in the context of chronic pain has been conceptualized implicitly as a latent variable, in which symptoms are viewed as manifestations of an underlying disorder. A network approach provides an alternative model and posits that symptoms are causally connected, rather than merely correlated, and that disorders exist as systems, rather than as entities. The present study applied a network analysis to self-reported symptoms of major depression in patients with chronic pain.

Do Pain-Related Support Preferences Moderate Relationships Between Chronic Pain Patients' Reports of Support Received and Psychosocial Functioning?

Objective: The operant theory of chronic pain and related research suggest pain-related solicitous support promotes disability. The current study investigated the hypotheses that solicitous support is positively associated with both disability and relationship satisfaction and that these relationships are moderated by the level of desire for this type of support.

Methods: Patients with chronic pain (N = 147) and in a relationship were recruited from a multidisciplinary pain treatment center.

The relationship between mindfulness, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and quality of life among cancer survivors living with chronic neuropathic pain.

Purpose: This study aims to examine if mindfulness is associated with pain catastrophizing, depression, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP).

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with cancer survivors experiencing CNP. Participants (n = 76) were men (24 %) and women (76 %) with an average age of 56.

Clinically Important Change in Insomnia Severity After Chronic Pain Rehabilitation.

Objectives: Insomnia is a common problem for people with chronic pain. It is unclear, however, whether interdisciplinary treatment centered on pain management, rather than sleep, confers a benefit in reducing insomnia symptoms. In this study, we examined clinically important change in insomnia severity following participation in an interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation program.

Loss of Dignity in Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Context: The maintenance of dignity is an important concept in palliative care, and the loss of dignity is a significant concern among patients with advanced cancer.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to examine whether loss of dignity is also a concern for patients receiving interdisciplinary rehabilitation for Stage III or IV chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We examined the prevalence and correlates of loss of dignity and determined whether it improves with treatment.

Attachment insecurity predicts responses to an interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation program.

The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that attachment insecurity is associated with poorer responses to interdisciplinary treatment for chronic pain. Patients (n = 235) admitted to a 4-week interdisciplinary rehabilitation program were recruited. At pre-treatment, participants completed a battery of questionnaires assessing adult attachment styles and dimensions, as well as pain intensity, disability, self-efficacy, pain catastrophizing, and depressive symptoms.

A Breathlessness Catastrophizing Scale for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: Catastrophizing about breathlessness may be related to disability in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but assessment options are limited. This study reports the initial validation of a 13-item Breathlessness Catastrophizing Scale (BCS).

Method: Pulmonary rehabilitation inpatients completed spirometric, functional performance and questionnaire assessments at admission (N=242) and discharge (n=186).

Major depressive disorder and sleep disturbance in patients with chronic pain.

Background: Disturbed sleep is a common problem in both chronic pain and major depressive disorder (MDD). Moreover, many patients with chronic pain are depressed.

Objectives: To examine the effects of depression on the sleep behaviour of chronic pain patients by comparing patients who did or did not meet diagnostic criteria for MDD.

Psychometric evaluation and refinement of the Pain Response Preference Questionnaire.

Background: The Pain Response Preference Questionnaire (PRPQ) assesses preferences regarding pain-related social support. The initial factor analytical study of the PRPQ produced four empirically supported scales labelled Solicitude, Management, Encouragement and Suppression. A second study produced similar findings, but suggested that the Management and Encouragement scales be combined into a single scale labelled Activity Direction.

Self-perceived burden in chronic pain: relevance, prevalence, and predictors.

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that can have an impact on various facets of interpersonal functioning. Although some studies have examined the extent to which family members are affected by an individual's chronic pain, none have examined patients' perceptions of feeling that they have become a burden to others. Research on self-perceived burden in different medical populations, such as cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and stroke, has shown that it is associated with physical symptoms and, more robustly, with psychological difficulties and concerns.

A psychometric evaluation of the Pain Response Preference Questionnaire in a chronic pain patient sample.

Objective: The Pain Response Preference Questionnaire (PRPQ) assesses preferences regarding pain-related social support. The initial factor analytic study of the PRPQ conducted with a nonclinical sample identified scales labeled Solicitude, Management, Suppression, and Encouragement. The first aim of the current study was to evaluate whether these scales would be appropriate for use with chronic pain patients.

Changes in perceived pain severity following interdisciplinary treatment for chronic pain.

Background: There is good support for the effectiveness of interdisciplinary chronic pain management programs in improving functional outcomes; however, relatively little is known about patients who report deterioration following participation in such programs.

Objectives: The present retrospective study investigated patients' reports of increased pain severity during participation in a cognitive-behaviourally oriented, outpatient treatment for chronic pain.

Methods: Participants (n=280) completed a four-week, group-based, interdisciplinary chronic pain self-management program at a rehabilitation hospital.

HIV knowledge among Canadian-born and sub-Saharan African-born patients living with HIV.

Research has revealed differences on scales measuring HIV knowledge between individuals from various ethnic backgrounds and cultures. Few studies have examined this knowledge with immigrant populations and persons living with HIV. This study examined HIV knowledge among persons living with HIV who were either born in Canada or in sub-Saharan Africa and, for comparison, in a sample of college students.

Improving access to acute mental health services in a general hospital.

Background: There is a paucity of service research on the effectiveness of short-term mental health clinics.

Aims: To outline the development of the Urgent Consultation Clinic (UCC), an inter-professional, short-term, mental health program in a general hospital, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the UCC from a quality improvement perspective.

Method: Participants (n = 143) completed a battery of validated measures assessing psychological and physical symptoms, quality of life, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with services at three time-points.

Increasing public awareness about hepatitis C: development and validation of the brief hepatitis C knowledge scale.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is silently becoming a major public health problem. Currently, no validated HCV knowledge measures exist. This study aimed to develop and validate a brief measure to assess general knowledge about HCV risk factors, modes of transmissions, and treatment options.

The role of psychological and behavioral variables in quality of life and the experience of bodily pain among persons living with HIV.

With increased life expectancy of individuals living with HIV, quality of life (QOL) has become a focus of treatment. More research is needed to address pain-related QOL and modifiable variables, such as health behaviors, depressive symptoms, and coping styles, which could be included in treatment protocols to improve QOL among individuals with HIV. Objectives of this study were to (1) examine relationships among health behaviors, psychological variables, and QOL, particularly pain-specific QOL, (2) examine the relationships among coping, depressive symptoms, and QOL, and (3) compare QOL scores of individuals with HIV and population-based normative data.

Development and validation of the HIV Medication Readiness Scale.

Excellent medication adherence (>95%) is required for optimal HIV treatment success. This study aimed to develop and validate a brief scale to assess psychological readiness for successfully starting and adhering to HIV medications. HIV-positive men and women (N = 142) from an HIV outpatient clinic completed the proposed HIV Medication Readiness Scale (HMRS) prior to starting HIV medications.

Physical activity behavior change in middle-aged and older women: the role of barriers and of environmental characteristics.

The majority of North American women are insufficiently active. Using an ecological approach to examine physical activity behavior in a sample of middle-aged and older women, this study aimed to (1) describe barriers to physical activity behavior change as well as environmental characteristics present in their neighborhoods, (2) examine relationships between barriers and physical activity behavior change, and (3) investigate environmental characteristics that may contribute to physical activity behavior change. Participants were 149 women ranging in age between 39 and 68.

An attachment insecurity model of negative affect among women seeking treatment for an eating disorder.

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a model of attachment insecurity in a clinical sample of 268 eating disordered women. Structural relationships among attachment insecurity, BMI, perceived pressure to diet, body dissatisfaction, restrained eating, and negative affect were assessed. A heterogeneous sample of treatment seeking women with a diagnosed eating disorder completed psychometric tests prior to receiving treatment.

Depression and cigarette smoking independently relate to reduced health-related quality of life among Canadians living with hepatitis C.

Background: Many people living with chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV) report reduced health-related quality of life. The relative contribution of behavioural, psychosocial and HCV disease factors to reduction in HCV health-related quality of life is not well understood. The objectives of the present study were to compare standardized health-related quality of life scores between Canadian HCV patients and age-matched Canadian and American norms, and to examine the relative contribution of biopsychosocial variables (ie, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake and depression) to health-related quality of life scores among Canadian HCV patients.