Self-efficacy for coping with cancer in a multiethnic sample of breast cancer patients: associations with barriers to pain management and distress.

Objectives: This study examined the interrelations of self-efficacy for coping with cancer, perceived barriers to pain management, distress, and pain outcomes in a multiethnic sample of breast cancer patients. The extent to which ethnicity (Black, Latina, or White), language (English or Spanish), and level of education and income predicted these variables was also assessed.

Methods: Participants were breast cancer patients with persistent pain (N=87) who were recruited from oncology clinics in New York City.

Impact of a brief intervention on patient communication and barriers to pain management: results from a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study examined the impact of a brief pain communication/education intervention on patient outcomes in breast cancer. We hypothesized that our intervention would improve patient communication and reduce misconceptions ("Barriers") concerning pain management, and that patients with lower Barriers, or who perceived their physician as being more facilitative and receptive, would report better outcomes.

Methods: Female breast cancer patients with persistent pain (n=89) were randomly assigned to either a 30-min in-person pain education/communication intervention or control condition and followed for 12 weeks.

Patient-physician communication in the context of persistent pain: validation of a modified version of the patients' Perceived Involvement in Care Scale.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Perceived Involvement in Care Scale (M-PICS), a measure designed to assess pain patients' perceptions of patient health care provider communication during the medical consultation. Eighty-seven breast cancer outpatients with persistent pain completed a battery of questionnaires, including the M-PICS. A factor analysis supported four factors.

Effects of spouse-assisted coping skills training and exercise training in patients with osteoarthritic knee pain: a randomized controlled study.

This study tested the separate and combined effects of spouse-assisted pain coping skills training (SA-CST) and exercise training (ET) in a sample of patients having persistent osteoarthritic knee pain. Seventy-two married osteoarthritis (OA) patients with persistent knee pain and their spouses were randomly assigned to: SA-CST alone, SA-CST plus ET, ET alone, or standard care (SC). Patients in SA-CST alone, together with their spouses, attended 12 weekly, 2-h group sessions for training in pain coping and couples skills.

The impact of PTSD on pain experience in persons with HIV/AIDS.

Pain is a common and pervasive symptom for persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Individuals with persistent pain are known to be at heightened risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder that manifests itself following exposure to a traumatic event. Moreover, research suggests that patients with persistent pain who develop PTSD often experience greater pain intensity and pain-related disability than those who do not develop PTSD.

The relationship of gender to pain, pain behavior, and disability in osteoarthritis patients: the role of catastrophizing.

One hundred and sixty-eight patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knees participated in this study. Of the participants, 72 were men and 96 were women. All participants completed the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS), underwent a 10 min standardized observation session to assess their pain behavior, and completed the Catastrophizing Scale of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and the Depression Scale of the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90R).

Mammography pain and discomfort: a cognitive-behavioral perspective.

Although some women report having little pain or discomfort during mammography, other women find mammography to be a painful and uncomfortable experience. Cognitive and behavioral factors may influence the perception of pain and discomfort during mammography. This review critically evaluates the research on mammography pain from a cognitive-behavioral perspective.