1 Outcome measures in pain therapy

The context of the current outcome movement is discussed and different outcome measures are presented. One central issue is analysing the advantages and drawbacks of the various methods of assessing pain. However, relying solely on pain as an outcome measure is mostly inadequate in chronic conditions: the report of pain itself is already influenced by psychosocial factors, which, in turn, are themselves substantially related to outcome and are therefore considered to be important outcome variables. The impact of pain on psychological as well as work-related factors is emphasized, and appropriate ways of measuring improvement, and distinguishing statistically from clinically important change, are presented. Basic principles to develop and use good outcome assessment need to be observed.