Affiliations 

  • 1 1 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 2 Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 3 Dean's Office, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J Palliat Med, 2017 08;20(8):869-874.
PMID: 28410449 DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2016.0448

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Measuring suffering objectively presents a challenge because suffering is a unique and subjective experience. However, objective tools are of profound importance in the detection and management of suffering in clinical practice for optimal patient care.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to assess the psychometric properties of the Suffering Pictogram, a new suffering assessment instrument on a population of palliative care patients.

DESIGN AND SETTING: This is a validation study conducted at University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ninety one palliative care patients were recruited. Patients were interviewed with the Suffering Pictogram and FACIT-Sp.

RESULTS: The median completion time for the Suffering Pictogram was five minutes. The Suffering Pictogram showed good internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.836. The total scores of the Suffering Pictogram correlated strongly and negatively with FACIT-Sp total score (Spearman's Rho = -0.625, p 

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.