Survey Methodology

Survey Countries
The research was conducted in the following 16 countries:

United Kingdom
Denmark

France Netherlands

Germany Belgium

Italy Finland

Spain Ireland

Poland Switzerland

Sweden Austria

Norway Israel

Objectives of the survey
The Pain in Europe survey is the most in-depth and largest ever survey of chronic pain sufferers in Europe, designed to explore the prevalence, severity and treatment of chronic pain, and its impact on daily life. Specifically it aimed to:

estimate the prevalence of chronic pain conditions across Europe;
understand and quantify the sources and causes of chronic pain;
explore the demographics of sufferers;
explore the impact of pain on sufferers’ quality of life (QoL) and activities of daily living;
understand current treatment practices, levels of satisfaction with and barriers to appropriate treatment; and
explore the attitudes of sufferers toward and experiences with pain, as well as those of their families, friends, co-workers and healthcare providers (through the eyes of the sufferers).

Numbers
With over 46,000 people interviewed, Pain in Europe represents the largest and most in-depth long term (chronic) pain survey ever conducted in Europe.

Screening interviews were conducted amongst approximately 3,000 respondents in each country, totaling 46,394 across Europe to get the baseline prevalence data.

The attitudinal analysis of chronic pain sufferers was based on the full sample of 4,839 chronic pain sufferers across Europe. This section of the survey was capped to include approximately 300 chronic pain sufferers in each country.

The country-level data is weighted based on gender and age, and bias due to telephone behaviour, to be fully representative of the population surveyed.

Methodology
Using a short questionnaire, screening interviews were conducted amongst approximately 3,000 adult men and women in each country.

The screening questionnaire served two purposes:

to determine the prevalence of chronic pain by country and across Europe; and
to identify at least 300 chronic pain sufferers per country to participate in a more detailed questionnaire to learn more about chronic pain sufferers and their experiences/attitudes with their pain

The working definition of a chronic pain sufferer was defined as:

adult (18 years old or older)
has suffered from pain due to illness or medical condition for at least six months
has experienced pain within the past month
has experienced pain at least several times a week
rates intensity of pain as 5 or higher on a 1-10 scale where 1 = “No pain at all” and 10 = “The worst pain imaginable”

Attitudes to Pain
As part of the research the attitudes of pain sufferers were examined by evaluating their level of agreement with various “attitude, interest, and opinion (AIO)” statements. The AIO statements included topics such as:

life in general as a result of pain
attitudes toward pain medication
attitudes toward doctors; and
perceptions of themselves and others as a result of the pain they experienced

The broad representation of European countries yielded a sample that is representative of the attitudes of pain sufferers across Europe.

Timing
The interviews were carried out, October 2002 – June 2003.

Ownership
The survey is supported by an educational grant from Mundipharma International Ltd, Cambridge, England.