Extraneous Variables
In the course of the study, one will have to consider a range of extraneous variables. The issues that will have to be controlled include the type of medicine that the participants of the research receive as the means of alleviating pain and the individual pain tolerance levels of the target population. For instance, it will be necessary to make sure that all participants should receive the same medicine for alleviating pain. The amount of drug consumed by each of the participants should also be controlled. Furthermore, the individual perception of pain will have to be addressed so that the participants could have a uniform attitude toward their experience. Age and gender should also be viewed as essential extraneous variables; however, unlike the ability to tolerate pain and the amount of medicine consumed by the target population, the said variables cannot be controlled throughout the research (Becker et al., 2014).
Instruments
Description
The instruments used in the course of the study will allow measuring the participants’ pain levels successfully. Seeing that pain tolerance levels are individual in each patient and depend on a range of factors, it will be necessary to make the measurement process as objective as possible. For this purpose, two types of assessments will be combined, i.e., numerical (NRS) and verbal rating scales (VRS). The data will be retrieved from the target population based on the information that they provide verbally, as well as their evaluation of pain levels based on a five-point scale (from tolerable to intolerable).
Validity
The validity of the instrument will be tested based on the internal structure of the tool. Particularly, it will be necessary to make sure that the outcomes in patients with pain issues should be evaluated objectively and accurately. Therefore, the changes in NRS and VRS will have to be measured to assure that the validity standards should be met and that the tool can be deemed as a representation of the current high-quality pain measurement devices (Dansie & Turk, 2013).
Reliability
To measure the reliability of the test, one will have to consider its internal consistency (Ravens-Sieberer, Karow, Barthel, & Klasen, 2014). Seeing that the test incorporates the characteristics of two widely acclaimed devices for measuring pain levels in patients, one can posit that the said approach is quite reliable. Using the COSMIN 4-point rating scale, one may also conclude that a combination of the NRS and VRS tools can be considered a rather efficient framework for measuring the patients’ pain levels (Johnson & Smith, 2017).
Intervention
The use of peer mentoring and self-management as the means of alleviating pain will be utilized as the essential intervention tools. The patients will be provided with detailed instructions about how peer mentoring should be carried out. Furthermore, the participants will be instructed about the ways of managing their pain independently. Thus, further acquisition of the relevant knowledge and skills will be encouraged among the target population (Goldenberg, Payne, Hayes, Zeltzer, & Tsao, 2013).
Data Collection
The information will be gathered with the help of surveys and interviews. As stressed above, the changes in the pain-related experiences are bound to be very subjective because of the individual perception of pain. Thus, it will be crucial to gather the information that will allow for comparatively objective analysis, and interviews can be viewed as the means of exploring the patients’ in-depth and from the viewpoint of the interviewer.
References
Becker, W. C., Fraenkel, L., Edelman, E. J., Holt, S. R., Glover, J., Kerns, R. D., & Fiellin, D. A. (2014). Instruments to assess patient-reported safety, efficacy or misuse of current opioid therapy for chronic pain: A systematic review. Pain, 154(6), 905–916. Web.
Dansie, E. J., & Turk, D. C. (2013). Assessment of patients with chronic pain. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 111(1), 19-25. Web.
Goldenberg, D., Payne, A. L., Hayes, L. P., Zeltzer, L. K., & Tsao, J. C. I. (2013). Peer mentorship teaches social tools for pain self-management: A case study. Journal of Pain Management, 6(1), 61-68.
Johnson, A. M., & Smith, S. M. S. (2017). A review of general pain measurement tools and instruments for consideration of use in COPD clinical practice. International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 12, 923–929. Web.
Ravens-Sieberer, U., Karow, A., Barthel, D., & Klasen, F. (2014). How to assess quality of life in child and adolescent psychiatry. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 16(2), 147–158.