A randomized, clinical trial of education or motivational-interviewing-based coaching compared to usual care to improve cancer pain management.

Purpose/objectives: To test the effectiveness of two interventions compared to usual care in decreasing attitudinal barriers to cancer pain management, decreasing pain intensity, and improving functional status and quality of life (QOL).

Design: Randomized clinical trial.

Setting: Six outpatient oncology clinics (three Veterans Affairs [VA] facilities, one county hospital, and one community-based practice in California, and one VA clinic in New Jersey)Sample: 318 adults with various types of cancer-related pain.

Nurse coaching to explore and modify patient attitudinal barriers interfering with effective cancer pain management.

Purpose/objectives: To describe a complex coaching intervention to help patients with cancer pain explore beliefs and attitudinal barriers interfering with pain management. Patients were coached to explore beliefs about pain, communications about pain management, and the use of analgesics and nonpharmacologic interventions.

Data Sources: Published journal articles, abstracts, and psychology textbooks.