Validation of the Turkish Brief Inventory of Treatment Expectations in Chronic Pain

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Survey Assessment Battery: Participants will complete a comprehensive survey battery including: Sociodemographic and Clinical Information Form Turkish Brief Inventory of Treatment Expectations in Chronic Pain (BITEC-TR) Treatment Expectations in Chronic Pain Scale Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to conduct the Turkish cross-cultural adaptation, validity, and reliability study of the "Brief Inventory of Treatment Expectations in Chronic Pain" (BITEC) scale. Chronic pain is a complex, multidimensional experience that affects a significant portion of the adult population. Treatment expectations play a critical role in predicting clinical outcomes and directly influencing placebo/nocebo responses. While several tools exist to evaluate expectations, there is a lack of a concise, clinician-friendly, and Item Response Theory (IRT)-based instrument adapted for Turkish chronic pain populations. The BITEC is a 9-item scale that evaluates biological, psychological, and social/interactional expectation domains.

This methodological and cross-sectional study will be conducted with adult patients diagnosed with chronic pain for at least three months at Bingöl State Hospital. The study will be carried out in four consecutive stages: cross-cultural adaptation (forward and backward translation), comprehensibility pre-testing (with 30-40 volunteers), main data collection (with at least 200 participants), and statistical analyses. Data will be collected through printed forms and an online survey platform (Kobotoolbox), involving no clinical interventions. Participants will complete a sociodemographic information form, the Turkish version of the BITEC (BITEC-TR), the Treatment Expectations in Chronic Pain Scale (TEC-TR), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Additionally, a subgroup of approximately 60 participants will recomplete the BITEC-TR 7-10 days after the initial session to evaluate test-retest reliability. Psychometric evaluation will include construct validity through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and internal consistency and stability measurements.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Turkish Brief Inventory of Treatment Expectations in Chronic Pain (BITEC-TR) Score — Baseline (Day 1) and 7-10 days later for the test-retest subgroup.
  The BITEC-TR is a 9-item scale that evaluates biological, psychological, and social/interactional domains of treatment expectations in individuals with chronic pain. Each item is scored on a 4-point category scale (Never, Sometimes, Almost Always, Always). Total scores reflect the patient's level of treatment expectations, with higher scores or specific classification levels indicating higher expectations. It will be used to assess the scale's construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability.
• 11-point Numerical Pain Rating Scale Score — Baseline (Day 1)
  An 11-point segment scale (0 to 10) used to measure average pain intensity over the last week. '0' represents no pain, and '10' represents unbearable pain. It will be used to evaluate the convergent validity of the BITEC-TR.

Trial sites (2)

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