Developing a measure of beliefs and attitudes about chronic non‐malignant pain: a pilot study of occupational therapists

Abstract

Abstract The paper reports the results from the early stages of the development of an instrument to measure professionals' beliefs and attitudes on chronic non‐malignant pain, and assesses the instrument's use in measuring the effectiveness of education. British state‐registered occupational therapists (n=19) were surveyed, using a pilot instrument designed by one of the researchers, before and after a twoday course in the management of chronic non‐malignant pain led by a psychologist and two occupational therapists. Results show a statistically significant change in scores after education, indicating a positive change in beliefs and attitudes. Implications for future research are briefly discussed. The limitations of the study are the small sample size and the early stage in development of the instrument used. Further research will be aimed at improving the validity and reliability of the instrument using a larger multidisciplinary sample. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd.