The concept of pain inventory for children: The reliability and validity study of the Turkish version.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Pain experiences in childhood are very likely to be reflected in adulthood. The early evaluation of the concept of pain in children may eventually lead to. better patient outcomes in the future. Therefore, we aimed to culturally and developmentally adapt the Concept of Pain Inventory for Children (COPI) for Turkish children.

METHODS

This descriptive, correlational study was conducted with 239 post-operative children aged 8-12 years between June and December 2021. The research adhered to COSMIN guidelines. The data were collected using a descriptive information form and the COPI. Factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and item-total score analysis were used for the data analysis.

RESULTS

The resulting unidimensional scale consists of 12 items in Turkish. The scale explained 65% of the total variance. The exploratory factor analysis showed that the factor loadings of items ranged from 0.64 to 0.91. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor loadings of items ranged from 0.66 to 0.92. Goodness of fit indexes were found to be as follows: Normed Fit Index >0.90; Incremental Fit Index >0.90; Comparative Fit Index >0.90; and the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation <0.08. The total Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.78 (reliable).

CONCLUSIONS

The 12-item Turkish translation of the COPI was deemed valid and reliable in 8-12-year-old children in a post-operative setting.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Evaluation of children's pain concepts during childhood may contribute to the identification of conceptual gaps for pain science education.