Abstract:
Background: Pain is a common complaint of patients with cancer in view ol chronic and prov es ' e
nature of cancers. Proper assessment of pain is a prerequisite for its optimal management. Pain 1 Hest
assessed by using validated tools developed in patients' own language. SF MPQ-2 is a global!) used
pain descriptor translated and validated in different languages. However, validated Sinhala version ol
SF MPQ-2 is yet to be developed and used among the majority of Sinhala speaking population.
Purpose: Our aim was to validate Sinhala version of SF MPQ-2 among Sinhala speaking cancer
patients in Sri Lanka. Methodology: Questionnaire was administered to 207 patients with cancer pain
attending Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama. Content validity was tested by expert opinion, l ace
validity was tested by interviews had with patients with cancer pain and the construct validity b>
factor analysis. The reliability was tested by internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha and the
acceptable threshold was considered > 0.70. Results: A total of 207 participants (112 males, 95
females), mean age of 54 (SD+ 13) years, were included in the study. Four factors extracted by factor
analysis explained 53.5% of the variance, which was in line with studies done in other countries The
Cronbach’s alpha for four subscales neuropathic, affective, intermittent and continues were 0 768
0.791, 0.824, and 0.789 respectively. Conclusion. We conclude that the SF-MPQ-2-Sinhala version is
a valid and reliable pain descriptor for evaluation of cancer pain in Sinhala speaking patients in Sri
Lanka.
