Testing the factorial validity of scores from the caregiver pain medicine questionnaire.

Abstract

The Caregiver Pain Medicine Questionnaire is designed to measure caregiver agreement with statements regarding pain management. However, little testing has been done to determine its reliability and validity. The objective of the study was to test the factorial validity of scores from the Caregiver Pain Medicine Questionnaire as hypothesized by the original study authors. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess whether the subscales postulated by the instrument authors could be replicated in external data. Fit statistics reveal an unsatisfactory fit between the hypothesized model and the observed data. The theoretical model hypothesized by the original study authors was not confirmed. Results lead us to conclude that the instrument is poor and should not be used. Further research is needed to define content domains and validate the items developed to assess them.