AI Article Synopsis
- Many cancer patients hesitate to report pain or use pain medications, citing fears of addiction, societal expectations, and concerns about side effects.
- A study with 270 patients found that between 37% and 85% reported these concerns, with older, less educated, or lower-income patients being more affected.
- Patients who were under-medicated had significantly higher levels of concern about pain management, highlighting the need for better understanding and support in pain care practices.
Article Abstract
Patients' reluctance to report pain and to use analgesics are considered major barriers to pain management. To explore this problem, 270 patients with cancer completed a 27-item self-report questionnaire (BQ) that assessed the extent to which they have concerns about reporting pain and using pain medication. The 8 specific concerns included fear of addiction, beliefs that 'good' patients do not complain about pain, and concern about side effects. Patients also completed a measure of pain severity and pain interference (the BPI). The percentages of patients having concerns assessed by the BQ ranged from 37% to 85%. Those who were older, less educated, or had lower incomes were more likely to have concerns. Higher levels of concern were correlated with higher levels of pain. Based on their reports of pain medications used in the past week and on their reports of pain severity, patients were categorized as under-medicated versus adequately medicated. Those who were under-medicated reported significantly higher levels of concern. The data are discussed in terms of implications for research and practice.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0304-3959(93)90165-L | DOI Listing |
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