Pain

Anchoring Vignettes for Pain

Questions:

  1. Overall in the last 30 days, how much of bodily aches or pains did you have?
  2. Overall in the last 30 days, how much pain or discomfort did [name of person/you] have?

Response categories:

  1. None
  2. Mild
  3. Moderate
  4. Severe
  5. Extreme/Cannot Do
Vignettes:
  1. [Tom] is free from any headaches or pains. When he does hard physical labour too he does not get any pains as he has kept himself fit.
  2. [Katie] cannot remember when she last felt pain as this has not happened for the last several years now. She does not experience any pain even after hard physical labor or exercise.***
  3. [Laura] has a headache once a month that is relieved one hour after taking a pill. During the headache she can carry on with her day to day affairs.***
  4. [Catherine] suffers from arthritis that causes stiffness in her wrists and hands but is relieved with low doses of medication. She does not have any pains other than this generalized discomfort.
  5. [Patricia] has a headache once a week that is relieved 3-4 hours after taking a pill. During the headache she has to lie down and cannot do any other tasks.
  6. [Sophie] carries water in a pitcher on her head from the village water supply twice a day. Over the last few weeks she has developed a sore back and struggles to get the pitcher onto her head. She feels this pain while carrying the pitcher.
  7. [James] gets pains across his chest whenever he goes for a strenuous walk (usually two to three times every week). This is relieved after he stops and rests for a few minutes.
  8. [Ken] has a recurring pain in his foot which he feels when he walks for ten minutes or more. He walks to work and back (20 minutes each way) almost every day, but is thinking about taking the bus because of the pain.
  9. [Jeremy] has a constantly dull ache in his shoulders and stiff muscles. This improves somewhat overnight and gets worse again during the day once he gets back to work.
  10. [Phil] has had a hip replacement. He is able to walk around his house but finds it uncomfortable to walk up a street or to do some activities, such as gardening.
  11. [Isabelle] has pain that radiates down her right arm and wrist during her day at work. This is slightly relieved in the evenings when she is no longer working on her computer.***
  12. [Yvonne] has almost constant pain down her whole arm and this prevents her from doing her work in the care assembly line. She may lose her job because of this.
  13. [Jim] has back pain that makes changes in body position very uncomfortable. He is unable to stand or sit for more than half an hour. Medicines decrease the pain a little, but it is there all the time and interferes with his ability to carry out even day to day tasks.
  14. [Mark] has pain in his knees, elbows, wrists and fingers, and the pain is present almost all the time. It gets worse during the first half of the day. Although medication helps, he feels uncomfortable when moving around, holding and lifting things.***
  15. [Steve] has pain in the neck radiating to the arms that is not relieved by any medicines or other treatment. The pain is sharp at all times and keeps him awake most of the night. During the day the pain has made him completely incapacitated. It has necessitated complete confinement to the bed and often makes him think of ending his life.***

*** Included in the final World Health Survey instrument in 2002.