Development and Validation of Chinese Assessment Scale for Zoster-Associated Pain

<i>Objective: </i>To develop and validate a Chinese assessment scale for patients with zoster-associated pain (ZAP) that is tailored to China's national conditions. <i>Methods: </i>A descriptive study was conducted to formulate the preliminary scale items based on the common clinical features of ZAP, incorporating consensus from domestic herpes zoster experts, clinical guidelines, and international scale development procedures. The pre-scale was refined through review by pain specialists and pre-testing. From March 20 to November 21, 2024, a clinical investigation involving 145 ZAP patients from the Pain Department of Shandong Provincial Hospital was carried out. The pre-scale questionnaire was administered and item analysis—including the critical ratio method, correlation coefficients, and discrete trend analysis—was performed to screen items and form a preliminary version. Reliability and validity were further assessed. <i>Results:</i> The scale demonstrated strong validity and reliability, with a standardized Cronbach’s α of 0.857 (>0.7), a KMO value of 0.781 (>0.6), and a Bartlett’s sphericity test result of χ<sup>2</sup> = 914.521 (p < 0.001). Exploratory factor analysis extracted five common factors with a cumulative variance contribution of 70.169% (>50%) and factor loadings between 0.529 and 0.920. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit: χ<sup>2</sup>/df = 1.902, RMSEA = 0.079 (<0.08), CFI = 0.915 (>0.90), and IFI = 0.917 (>0.90). The final ZAP assessment scale comprises three sections: 15 non-quantitative items, 17 quantitative items across 5 dimensions, and 3 additional quantitative items specific to acute-phase patients. <i>Conclusion:</i> The developed Chinese assessment scale for ZAP exhibits good reliability, validity, and applicability, making it a suitable tool for clinical use in China.