Overactivity Assessment in Persistent Pain

31 March 2021

What is the research about?

While clinicians advise and encourage individuals with chronic or persistent pain to stay active, it is recognised that individuals can severely aggravate their pain by doing “too much”. When activity engagement results in a severe pain aggravation and a period of incapacity (where an individual is unable to function because the intensity of their pain) this is referred to as overactivity.

As part of the Pain ROADMAP initiative, which aims to improve the assessment and treatment of overactivity in chronic pain through technology, an overactivity self-report measure was developed and validated.

What did the researchers do?

Our research team first deconstructed the overactivity concept. From this deconstruction, the Overactivity in Persistent Pain Assessment (OPPA) was developed to measure five quantifiable overactivity severity features: severity of pain exacerbation, maladaptive coping strategies used, impact on occupational performance, recovery time and frequency. A sample of 333 individuals with chronic pain completed the OPPA and additional measures to test the psychometric properties.

What did the researchers find?

The OPPA was psychometrically sound in terms of its structural validity, construct validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency.

How can you use this research?

Overactivity in the context of chronic pain is an important clinical issue that has gained empirical attention in the last decade. Our research supports the application of a self-report assessment tool, that provides a comprehensive assessment of overactivity severity features, in clinical and research settings.  PDF versions of the OPPA can be downloaded from our website free of charge: http://bit.ly/2ZriEGe

About the researchers

Dr Nicole Andrews is an internationally recognised scholar in the field of pain management

Dr Chi-Wen Chien is an Occupational Therapist with a strong research interest in validating psychometric properties of rehabilitation-related measures

Dr David Ireland is a research scientist with expertise in the development, evaluation and translation of tele- and m-health services

Dr Marlien Varnfield has extensive experience in tele- and m-health care models designed to deliver support in management of people living with chronic conditions

Citation

Andrews NE, Chien C-W, Ireland D, Varnfield M. Overactivity assessment in chronic pain: The development and psychometric evaluation of a multifaceted self-report assessment. European journal of pain. 2020;00:1-18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.1664

Keywords

Overactivity, Activity Pacing, Assessment, Chronic Pain, Disability

Contact information

   Dr Nicole Andrews

   Email: n.andrews@uq.edu.au

   Twitter: @Nic_Em_Andrews

 

 

Acknowledgements

Metro North Hopsital and Health Service

The Australian eHealth Research Centre, CSIRO

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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