DEVELOPMENT OF A SHORT VERSION OF THE BARRIERS QUESTIONNAIRE

Among the masons that cancer pain is not controlled adequately are pat ient-related barriers. Patient beliefs that may contribute to poor out come have been measured in previous research with the Barriers Questio nnaire (BQ). The purpose of this study was to examine the internal con sistency of a shortened version of the BQ. A sample of 217 outpatients with cancer completed a 17-item version of the scale. Factor analysis suggested two subscales, one reflecting-beliefs about communication a bout pain and the other reflecting beliefs about the use of analgesics . Both subscales demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Beliefs d ial not differ between patients who had and those who had not experien ced pain within the previous two weeks. Findings suggest the shortened BQ provides an internally consistent measure of two broad patient bar riers to pain management. (C) U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee, 1998.