VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE TURKISH VERSION OF THE SEX PAIN QUESTIONNAIRE

SEXUAL FUNCTIONALITY IN CHRONIC PRIMARY PAIN CONDITIONS: VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE TURKISH VERSION OF THE SEX PAIN QUESTIONNAIRE

Although there are many questionnaires used in the literature regarding sexual function and satisfaction, these questionnaires evaluate sexual problems regardless of the chronic pain condition and have not been validated for chronic pain. It has been reported that developing a standard or consensus-determined measure to evaluate sexual health in musculoskeletal pain would be advantageous for clinical practice and research. For this purpose, the only study we encountered in the literature is the Sexual Functionality in Chronic Primary Pain Conditions: Sex Pain Questionnaire developed by Rafael Ballester-Arnal in 2022. The questionnaire, consisting of 17 items, comprises two factors: "Sexual and relationship dissatisfaction" and "The effect of chronic pain on sexual life" and has good psychometric properties (Internal consistency indices of 0.72 and 0.96). This study was planned to establish the Turkish validity and reliability of the Sexual Functionality in Chronic Primary Pain Conditions: Sex Pain Questionnaire, which was developed to identify sexual function problems that are impaired due to physical pain in patients with chronic pain, and to contribute it to the literature.

Developing goal-oriented and appropriate prevention and management strategies is crucial in coping with chronic pain. Therefore, all factors associated with chronic pain, including biological, psychological, socio-demographic, and lifestyle determinants, their consequences, and follow-up should be investigated.

Sexual and relationship health are also important components of quality of life ( Studies in the literature show that sexual function and relationships are negatively affected in chronic pain conditions compared to healthy controls. It is reported that sexual function and relationships are negatively affected, especially in women, as pain intensity, anxiety, depression, stress, fear avoidance, and catastrophizing increase, physical function decreases, body image distortion and self-efficacy perception decrease, and psychosocial problems are present. However, despite its importance for patients, many clinicians do not address sexual health issues due to lack of time, resources, and training, concerns about knowledge and skills, fear of criminality, personal discomfort, and lack of awareness about potential sexual health problems in patient groups.

Inclusion Criteria:

• patient with primary chronic pain (such as non-specific lower back/neck pain, fibromyalgia)
• pain lasting longer than 3 months (as classified by IASP in 2019),
• who has been in a regular and stable heterosexual relationship for the past year.

Exclusion Criteria:

• who have not had a regular and stable heterosexual relationship for the last year
• have serious and secondary musculoskeletal diseases
• have post-surgical and post-traumatic pain
• have underlying pathological causes such as chronic neuropathic pain, visceral pain
• with severe cognitive impairment
• who have difficulty understanding and completing the items in the questionnaire will be excluded from the study.