Table 2.
Self-complete postal questionnaires. Conceptual domains, operational definitions, and empirical measures
| Conceptual domain | Operational definition | Empirical measure | No. of items | When |
| Index pain location | Site of index pain complaint | Choice of anatomical site | 1 | B |
| Index global severity | Composite characteristic pain intensity, interference with activities, and disability days (of the index pain, in the month preceding index consultation) | Chronic Pain Grade [8] † | 7 | B, 3FU, 6FU, 12FU |
| Nature of onset | Traumatic, atraumatic onset | Yes/no/unsure | 1 | B |
| Episode duration | Time since last whole month free from this pain | Episode duration [9] † | 1 | B, 3FU. 6FU, 12FU |
| Multiple site/widespread pain | Pain in sites other than the index site over the last month. Manchester definition of widespread pain; Keele definition of number of pain sites | Manikin [12, 13] † | 1 | B, 3FU, 6FU, 12 FU |
| Pain consultation | First consultation for this pain complaint | Yes/no | 1 | B |
| Origin pain | Cause of pain | Free text | 1 | B |
| Consultation reason | Reason for consulting GP for this pain | Free text | 1 | B |
| Prognostic discussion | Does patient recall GP discussing prognosis | Yes/no | 1 | B |
| Prognostic importance | Is discussing prognosis important to the patient | Yes/no with free text section for explanation | 3 | B |
| Anxiety | Anxiety symptoms in past week | HAD [14] | 7 | B, 3FU, 6FU, 12FU |
| Depression | Low mood, anhedonia in past week | HAD [14] | 7 | B, 3FU, 6FU 12FU |
| Low mood, anhedonia in the past month | Depression Screening questions for primary care [10] † | 2 | B, 3FU, 6FU, 12FU | |
| Coping strategies | Coping strategies questionnaire | 1-item CSQ [15] | 8 | B |
| Patient Prognostic Judgement | Anticipated global change at 6 months | 6 item scale (completely recovered through to much worse) (adapted from [11] | 1 | B |
| Patient Perceived Recovery | Patients self-perceived rating of recovery | Yes/no [11] | 1 | 3FU, 6FU, 12FU |
| Age | Age at index consultation | Date of birth | 1 | B, 3FU, 6FU, 12FU |
| Sex | Sex | Male/Female | 1 | B, 3FU, 6FU, 12FU |
| Employment status | Employment status at time of questionnaire | Employed/Not working due to ill health/Retired/Housewife/Unemployed/Other | 1 | B,6FU. 12FU |
| Socioeconomic status | Occupational class based on individual (i) current or (ii) most recent job title | Job title – categorised as manual/non-manual according to SOCC 2000 [16, 17] | 2 | B |
| Living arrangement | Live alone | Yes/No | 1 | B |
| Marital status | Marital status at time of Baseline Questionnaire | Married/Single/Divorced/Widowed/Separated/Cohabiting | 1 | B |
| Social support | Availability of instrumental support | Single items [18] (yes/no/no need) | 1 | B, 3FU, 6 FU, 12 FU |
| Availability of emotional support | (yes/no/no need) | 1 | ||
| Obesity | Body Mass Index | Height (m/ft, in), weight (kg/st, lb) | 2 | B |
| General health | Self-rated health | SF-36 item [19] | 1 | B, 3FU, 6 FU, 12 FU |
B = Baseline Questionnaire; 3FU = 3-month Follow-up Questionnaire HAD = Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale; SF-36 = Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36-item health status instrument
† Contains duplicate of brief prognostic assessment question