Aims

To measure the prevalence of pain in a community-dwelling population, to gauge the impact of pain on their daily activities, and to describe the measures they used for pain management.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional survey using a standardized structured questionnaire. Subjects were recruited by random digit dialing sampling with the computer-assisted telephone interviewing system (CATI). Subjects were all residents of Hong Kong at the time of their telephone interviews. Questions were asked about the respondent's sex, age, educational level, occupation, pain location and duration, pain relief methods, and the impact of pain on daily life activities. The responses were automatically recorded by the system.

Results

A total of 2,126 respondents were successfully recruited and completed the questionnaire. The response rate was 37.1%. The prevalence of pain was 45.9%. The most common site of pain was the back. Impacts on daily lives were mainly those of mood, mobility, and work performance. Seeking medical advice was the most common relief measure taken to alleviate pain. Both Traditional Chinese medicine and alternative methods were popular.

Conclusion

This study provides an estimate of the prevalence of pain in the Chinese community in Hong Kong. Western medicine as well as Chinese and alternative methods is popular.