This article presents two experiments aiming to investigate the adoption of a graduated measure to describe credibility attribution by observers who evaluate patients' pain accounts. A total of 160 medical students were required to express a credibility judgment on the pain intensity level of hypothetical patients. We used 16 vignettes based on a factorial mixed-design. Within-participants factors were the reported pain, the presence of a physical sign, the patient's facial expression and the patient's gender, and between-groups factors were the patient's age and the geographical distribution of the patient's name. Results confirm the well-established tendency not to believe patients' self-reports and provide information regarding the evaluators' uncertainty. The findings suggest that a graduated measure is useful for assessing the degree of uncertainty of the observers and subtle effects of different factors upon the judgment of patient's pain.

Rusconi, P., Riva, P., Cherubini, P., Montali, L. (2010). Taking into account the observers’ uncertainty: a graduated approach to the credibility of the patient’s pain evaluation. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE, 33(1), 60-71 [10.1007/s10865-009-9232-5].

Taking into account the observers’ uncertainty: a graduated approach to the credibility of the patient’s pain evaluation

RUSCONI, PATRICE PIERCARLO
;
RIVA, PAOLO;CHERUBINI, PAOLO;MONTALI, LORENZO
2010

Abstract

This article presents two experiments aiming to investigate the adoption of a graduated measure to describe credibility attribution by observers who evaluate patients' pain accounts. A total of 160 medical students were required to express a credibility judgment on the pain intensity level of hypothetical patients. We used 16 vignettes based on a factorial mixed-design. Within-participants factors were the reported pain, the presence of a physical sign, the patient's facial expression and the patient's gender, and between-groups factors were the patient's age and the geographical distribution of the patient's name. Results confirm the well-established tendency not to believe patients' self-reports and provide information regarding the evaluators' uncertainty. The findings suggest that a graduated measure is useful for assessing the degree of uncertainty of the observers and subtle effects of different factors upon the judgment of patient's pain.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Credibility; Graduated measure; Miscalibration; Pain assessment;
English
2010
33
1
60
71
open
Rusconi, P., Riva, P., Cherubini, P., Montali, L. (2010). Taking into account the observers’ uncertainty: a graduated approach to the credibility of the patient’s pain evaluation. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE, 33(1), 60-71 [10.1007/s10865-009-9232-5].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/8842
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