Relationship Between Belief about Analgesics, Analgesic Adherence and Pain Experience in Taiwanese Cancer Outpatients

Abstract

Social and behavioral scientists have proposed that a person's belief system crucially influences his or her behaviour, and therefore may affect outcomes of pain management. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between analgesic beliefs, analgesic adherence and pain experience amongst Taiwanese cancer outpatients. The cross-sectional study included 92 oncology outpatients in two teaching hospitals in the Taipei area of Taiwan. The research instruments included the Pain Opioid Analgesic Beliefs Scale-Cancer (POABS-CA), opioid adherence, and the Brief Pain Inventory-Chinese (BPI-Chinese). Beliefs about pain and opioids demonstrated a significant relationship with patients' opioid adherence (r = -0.30, p < 0.01). The more negative beliefs regarding opioids and pain the patient had, the worse their adherence to around the clock (ATC) analgesic regimen. However, there was no significant correlation between opioid belief and pain experience. As well, there were no significant relationships between adherence to opioid regimen and any of the measures of pain experience. The study highlights the potential importance of a patient's pain and opioid beliefs in adherence to pain medication.

Cancer pain assessment and management in ambulatory patients at a tertiary hospital in Ghana

“…18 But research has shown that the BPI is a very helpful tool in documenting the pain experience, analgesic adherence and overall pain relief information among cancer patients in developed countries. 11 This research gap in developing countries can affect the overall effectiveness of analgesic therapy among cancer patients. It is known that accumulating information on the pattern of analgesic prescription for pain management in cancer patients is critical in improving cancer symptom management in both developed and developing countries.…”

“…22 It is said that the overall quality of pain control can be influenced by the patients' attitudes, beliefs and misconceptions about pain treatment modalities. 11 Thus, it is imperative that patients should be given adequate instructions at the hospital by healthcare practitioners in order to correct possible misconceptions about prescribed pain treatments (e.g., fear of addiction). In-depth and consistent information about cancer-related pain and pain relief strategies should be provided along with clear and concise instructions concerning regular pain medication intake, dosage adjustments, management of drug side effects and the use of non-pharmacological approaches to curb cancer pain.…”

“…11 This lapse in information on the effectiveness of cancer pain relief therapy from developing countries can lead to suboptimal cancer pain control as existing pain management approaches are not race or culture sensitive. This study seeks to investigate the types, effectiveness as well as adherence to prescribed analgesics in oncology outpatients in a tertiary oncology centre in Ghana.…”

Satisfaction with pain management and impact of pain on quality of life in cancer patients

“…In addition to the appropriate implementation of guideline recommendations, patient‐related factors also impact the effectiveness of pain management. A recent study conducted in Taiwan found a significant correlation between patient beliefs about pain and opioids and opioid adherence …”

Pharmacoeconomics Evaluation of Morphine, MS Contin and Oxycodone in the Treatment of Cancer Pain

“…Chronic pain can affect sleep, appetite and normal life, lead to irritability, depression and resent, even erosion of sense of survival. Cancer pain is the important factor of influencing life quality of cancer patients (Gong et al, 2013;Liang et al, 2013;Mahigir et al, 2013;Budkaew et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2014). If acute pain doesn't get relieved, it will develop chronic pain and finally becoming a disease.…”