Open AccessShortening the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain‐Revised (SOAPP‐R): A Proof‐of‐Principle Study for Customized Computer‐Based Testing
Author(s) -
Finkelman Matthew D.,
Kulich Ronald J.,
Zacharoff Kevin L.,
Smits Niels,
Magnuson Britta E.,
Dong Jinghui,
Butler Stephen F.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1111/pme.12864
Subject(s) - medicine , test (biology) , computerized adaptive testing , opioid , sensitivity (control systems) , chronic pain , physical therapy , psychometrics , clinical psychology , electronic engineering , paleontology , receptor , engineering , biology
Abstract Background The Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain‐Revised (SOAPP‐R) is a 24‐item self‐report instrument that was developed to aid providers in predicting aberrant medication‐related behaviors among chronic pain patients. Although the SOAPP‐R has garnered widespread use, certain patients may be dissuaded from taking it because of its length. Administrative barriers associated with lengthy questionnaires further limit its utility. Objective To investigate the extent to which two techniques for computer‐based administration (curtailment and stochastic curtailment) reduce the average test length of the SOAPP‐R without unduly affecting sensitivity and specificity. Design Retrospective study. Setting Pain management centers. Subjects Four hundred and twenty‐eight chronic non‐cancer pain patients. Methods Subjects had taken the full‐length SOAPP‐R and been classified by the Aberrant Drug Behavior Index (ADBI) as having engaged or not engaged in aberrant medication‐related behavior. Curtailment and stochastic curtailment were applied to the data in post‐hoc simulation. Sensitivity and specificity with respect to the ADBI, as well as average test length, were computed for the full‐length test, curtailment, and stochastic curtailment. Results The full‐length SOAPP‐R exhibited a sensitivity of 0.745 and a specificity of 0.671 for predicting the ADBI. Curtailment reduced the average test length by 26% while exhibiting the same sensitivity and specificity as the full‐length test. Stochastic curtailment reduced the average test length by as much as 65% while always exhibiting sensitivity and specificity for the ADBI within 0.035 of those of the full‐length test. Conclusions Curtailment and stochastic curtailment have potential to improve the SOAPP‐R's efficiency in computer‐based administrations.