Pain Disability Index
Understand what the Pain Disability Index is and how it can help measure your patient's pain. Access a free PDF and example to help you get started.
Fact Checked by Nate Lacson.
What is a Pain Disability Index?
Chronic pain can profoundly affect an individual's physical, psychological, and social well-being. On a physical level, chronic pain can limit movement and mobility, leading to difficulty performing daily activities and physical decline due to inactivity.
Furthermore, chronic pain can have an adverse effect on mental health; depression and anxiety are common in those who suffer from chronic pain. It can also make it difficult for individuals to interact with others and participate in activities they used to enjoy.
The (PDI) is a questionnaire used to measure the level of disability caused by pain. It can help physicians understand how much chronic pain affects a patient's quality of life.
Developed by Raymond Tait, John Chibnall, and Steven Krause, the PDI evaluates how chronic pain impacts several areas of a patient's life. It assesses how pain affects family/home responsibilities, recreation, social activity, occupation, sexual behavior, self-care, and life-support activities. Each category has an 0-10 scale, with 0 indicating no disability and 10 representing total disability.
By filling out the PDI questionnaire, patients can give their physicians a detailed picture of how chronic pain impacts their lives. This information can be invaluable in designing an effective treatment plan.
Printable Pain Disability Index
Download this Pain Disability Index and better understand your client’s pain.
How does this Pain Disability Index work?
This free Pain Disability Index template is simple. Here's how to get started:
Step One: Access the free PDI
Using the link on this page, download a copy of the Pain Disability Index. You can also get it from the Carepatron app or the resources library.
Step Two: Provide a copy to your patient
Give the questionnaire to your patient and explain how it works. Use this to reassure them that you are concerned with their well-being and committed to finding the best treatment.
Step Three: Have your patient fill it out
Ask your patient to fill out the questionnaire. Tell them to rate how their pain has affected various aspects of their life on a scale of 0 to 10.
Step Four: Analyze the results
Once your patient has completed the questionnaire, review their responses and analyze them in conjunction with other information. This will help you determine the level of disability caused by chronic pain and design an effective treatment plan.
Pain Disability Index Scoring
The Pain Disability Index comprises seven categories: family/home responsibilities, recreation, social activity, occupation, sexual behavior, self-care, and life-support activities. Each category has a 0-10 scale, with 0 indicating no disability and 10 representing total disability.
The scores from each category are then added up to get a total score. The range for the total score is 0-70, with 0 reflecting no disability and 70 reflecting the highest degree of disability. A higher score means a more significant disability due to pain.
Note that the Pain Disability Index is not a diagnostic tool but is used to measure disability due to pain. You should utilize it with other information to help you better evaluate your patient's pain levels.
Pain Disability Index example (sample)
We have created a Pain Disability Index example to illustrate how this template works. The sample is filled out by a patient with chronic pain. It showcases how each category is rated and how the index is scored. You can view the sample here or download the PDF.
Download the free Pain Disability Index example (sample)
When to use this Pain Disability Questionnaire?
The Pain Disability Index is useful for evaluating how much chronic pain affects the quality of life. You can use it if or when:
You want to understand your patient's level of disability due to pain
The PDI can provide a clear picture of how chronic pain has impacted your patient's life and what areas they need help with. It gives you a better sense of how to approach their treatment plan.
You want to measure the impact of palliative care
You can use the Pain Disability Index to evaluate the effectiveness of palliative care. By assessing how much disability is caused by pain and monitoring changes over time, you can determine if the treatment is effective.
You need additional information about the effects of chronic pain
The Pain Disability Index provides a detailed snapshot of how chronic pain affects different aspects of a person's life. This information can be invaluable for designing an effective treatment outline. With the PDI, you can better understand your patient's needs, improving their health outcomes.
You need to provide evidence of disability
The Pain Disability Index is a widely recognized tool for evaluating disability due to pain. The data it provides can be used to support a disability claim or as evidence of disability for other purposes.
Benefits of free Pain Disability Assessment
Using the Pain Disability Index can provide several benefits, such as:
It provides an objective measure of disability due to pain
This free Pain Disability Index can help you better understand how much pain affects your patient's life and what areas need to be addressed.
It's reliable
The Pain Disability Index has been proven to be reliable and valid in research studies. You can be confident that the data you obtain is accurate and can be used for decision-making.
It's easy to use
This free Pain Disability Index template is fully digital and easy to use. You can quickly fill out the questionnaire, score it, and provide your patient with the results.
It's highly versatile
You can use the Pain Disability Index in various settings and with different patient populations. You can use it to assess pain levels in both children and adults. Additionally, it can be used for research purposes or to provide evidence of disability for other purposes.
Why use this Pain Disability app?
Do you want to simplify your practice management and make your job easier? Carepatron is the answer! Our software is designed to help make life easier for busy medical professionals everywhere. Our features include the following:
- Easy appointment bookings. No more manual bookkeeping; Carepatron automates your appointments with simple, intuitive calendar software.
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- Medical dictation. Streamline your documentation with our dictation features, making it easier and faster to record patient information.
Carepatron gives you peace of mind, knowing that your practice management needs are taken care of. No matter what size practice you run, you’ll be able to find something that works for your specific needs.
Just sit back, relax, and let us take care of the rest. Sign up today and make running your medical practice easier with Carepatron!
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Reference
Tait R.C., Chibnall J.T., Krause S. The pain disability index: psychometric properties. Pain. 1990; 40: 171-182.
Commonly asked questions
Raymond Tait, John Chibnall, and Steven Krause created the Pain Disability Index to help medical professionals assess the disability caused by pain in patients.
The Pain Disability Index is a 7-item questionnaire scored on a 0-10 point scale. To calculate the total score, add the scores of each item. The resulting score will give you an indication of how much disability is caused by pain.
The Pain Disability Index measures the amount of disability caused by pain. A higher score indicates a greater level of disability due to pain.
