Validation of the Hebrew version of the questionnaire “know pain 50”

Abstract

Introduction The “Know Pain 50” questionnaire, a well-known and validated questionnaire used to examine medical staff's knowledge in pain medicine, was translated and validated into Hebrew for Israeli medical staff. The questionnaire consists of 50 questions: the first five assess knowledge in pain medicine alone and the other 45 assess knowledge alongside attitudes and beliefs in many aspects of pain medicine. Background There is great importance in understanding the complexity of pain medicine for patients suffering from chronic pain. Many physicians in Israel report a lack of knowledge in many aspects of pain medicine and in particular proper evaluation of pain, and treatment of chronic pain. To the best of our knowledge, there are no valid and reliable questionnaires in Israel that assess physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding pain medicine. Therefore, validation of a Hebrew version of the “know pain 50” questionnaire is necessary. Methods A transcultural adaptation was performed. The Hebrew version of the questionnaire was given to 16 pain specialists, 40 family practitioners, and 41 medical interns. Family practitioners and medical interns were grouped and compared to pain specialists for analysis. Findings In the complete questionnaire alone and in all the different domains, pain specialists received higher scores (median = 3.5) than family practitioners + medical interns combined (median = 2.74), the group of family practitioners alone (median = 2.6), and the group of the medical interns alone (median = 2.9). (P-value < 0.01). Conclusions The validated Hebrew version of the “Know Pain 50” questionnaire was found suitable for the Israeli medical community. Thus, it is an appropriate tool for assessing different levels of knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of Israeli medical teams in pain medicine.