The Outcome Evaluation Questionnaire: Description and Initial Findings

Abstract

This paper describes the Outcome Evaluation Questionnaire (OEQ) and presents preliminary OEQ data gathered from a sample of 147 chronic pain patients. The OEQ is designed to provide a basic measure of behavioral and cognitive responses to pain. It includes items measuring pain, pain medication intake, sleep problems, mood, negative cognitions, and functional impairment. The OEQ is relatively brief (14 items) and easy to score. Results of this study provide support for the validity of OEQ items measuring pain intensity, sleep quality/sleep onset difficulties, depression, irritability and negative cognitions (negative thoughts of worthlessness and pain interference). OEQ items that required patients to provide fequency estimates (e.g. number of pain-free days, days out of work) were problematic in that they were generally skewed in this chronic pain population. With further refinements the OEQ could provide a practical method for conducting cognitive-behavioral assessments of patients having pain.