Development of a 10-item short form of the parents' postoperative pain measure: the PPPM-SF

The aim of this study was to create a psychometrically sound short form (PPPM-SF; scored 0‑10) of the Parents' Postoperative Pain Measure (PPPM; scored 0-15). Data from previously published studies were pooled and analyzed to identify the best 10 PPPM items for the short form. Criteria for item selection were: corrected item-total correlation, response distribution, and correlation with a child self-report measure of pain intensity on 2 days after surgery. The sample comprised 264 children aged 7 to 12 years (55.3% male) and their parents. The PPPM-SF correlated r = .98 with the PPPM. Similar internal consistency was found for the PPPM and the PPPM-SF, Cronbach's alpha = .85 for both. Item content was found to cover functional interference (5 items) and pain behavior (5 items). A preliminary indication of validity was provided by significantly lower PPPM-SF scores on the second than the first postoperative day. Consistent with the PPPM, there were no significant sex or age differences in PPPM-SF scores. Validation of the PPPM-SF in independent samples including younger children is a necessary next step. Adaptation of the PPPM to the standard 0-10 metric should enhance its utility for research and clinical practice.

Perspective: The Parents' Postoperative Pain Measure-Short Form, scored on the standard 0-10 metric for pain intensity scales, shows promise as a useful observational tool in research and clinical care for postoperative pain in children at home.