Modifying pain behaviour (2)

Two concepts that receive limited attention in the allied health literature are nomothetic and idiographic approaches. I’m discussing these concepts here because when we’re considering pain behaviour, I think we can focus much more on “generic” (nomothetic) concepts than we do idiographic ones – and yet we say we’re about the unique person in front of us. Firstly, this site offers a good summary of the difference between nomothetic and idiographic – click Essentially, nomothetic approaches focus on underlying generalities, perhaps traits, and are a solid part of the science of measurement in psychology. Given that much of our allied health measurement practice is based on psychological theories (such as using aggregated or grouped data to search for differences in means between two groups), it’s not surprising that we’ve tended to reach for a self-report measure when we want to understand what a person thinks and does when they’re sore. Think of the Oxford Knee Score, or the Oswestry Disability Index, for examples! Here’s an item from the Oswestry Disability Index (Fairbank, Couper, Davies et al, 1980) Section 5 – Sitting I can sit in any chair as long as I like. I can sit in my favorite chair as long as I like. Pain prevents me from sitting for more than 1 hour. Pain prevents me from sitting for more than ½ hour. Pain prevents me from sitting for more than 10minutes.Pain prevents me from sitting...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Assessment Back pain Chronic pain Coping strategies Low back pain Motivation Professional topics Science in practice behavioral pain behavior rehabilitation relational frame theory Source Type: blogs