A systematic review of outcome measures utilised to assess self-management in clinical trials in patients with chronic pain

Objectives The aim of this review was to identify, appraise and synthesise the outcome measures used to assess self-management in patients with chronic pain. Methods Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library and Google Scholar were searched to identify quantitative measures used within randomised or non-randomised clinical trials to assess self-management in adults (≥18 years) with chronic pain. Results 25 RCTs published between 1998 and 2016 were included in this review. Studies included patients with chronic pain, hip/knee osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Included studies utilised 14 different measures assessing a variety of constructs including self-efficacy (n = 19), coping (n = 4), empowerment (n = 2), pain attitude and management (n = 3), self-care (n = 1), role behaviour (n = 1) and multiple constructs of self-management (n = 1). The Chronic Pain Coping Inventory (CPCI) and Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ) cover different self-management related constructs across the physical, mental and social health domains. Conclusion The review identified 14 measures used as proxy measure to assess self-management in patients with chronic pain. These measures have good content and construct validity, and internal consistency. However additional research is required to develop their reliability, responsiveness and interpretability. Practice implications Multi-constructs measures (CPCI, heiQ) are suitable for assessing self-management