AN ASSESSMENT OF PSYCHOMETRIC INSTRUMENTS USED IN A GERIATRIC OUTPATIENT PAIN CLINIC

A multidisciplinary pain clinic for geriatric patients was established in Melbourne. The major pathological problems referred to the clinic have been musculoskeletal disease and postherpetic neuralgia. A third category of patients referred were a group whose level of reported pain appeared to be without any known physical cause. The initial aims of the clinic were to assess the suitability of available measures to describe the population and to assess change in pain, mood, and activity as a result of the interventions for pain management. The self‐report tests of pain, mood, and activity were found to be reliable when used with patients in this population. There was also support for concurrent and construct validity. 1991 Australian Psychological Society