Global Perceived Effect in Chronic Neck Pain

Neck pain is one of the most frequently reported symptoms in primary care settings. The global perceived effect (GPE) scale is a commonly used method in both research and practice for measuring patients’ assessment of their condition. One of the underlying assumptions of the GPE is that it measures a global assessment of change in the patient’s chief complaint. Despite the widespread use of the GPE, its measurement properties for neck pain conditions have been poorly researched.

Northwestern researchers performed a qualitative study of 106 chronic neck pain sufferers to gain a better understanding of what “getting better” means to them. Patients were recruited from another larger randomized clinical trial in which they received 12 weeks of treatment. At the end of treatment, patients participated in interviews to explore the factors they considered when determining if their neck condition improved, whether or not they thought it possible to ever be completely recovered, and what it would take to reach a full recovery.

Project Status: Recruitment complete

Study Name: Global Perceived Effect in Chronic Neck Pain

Principal Investigator: Roni Evans, DC, MS

Funding Agency: US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Grant number: R18HP10013

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00269360