The management of breakthrough cancer pain - educational needs a European nursing survey

Abstract

Poorly managed cancer pain is well known to profoundly impact the patient's daily life and interfere with quality of life. Nurses who cared for patients with cancer from 12 European countries participated in a survey of breakthrough cancer pain practice. The purpose was to investigate how nurses assess breakthrough cancer pain, use of standardised tools, confidence in supporting patients and awareness of medications. Responses from 1241 participants showed country variations. The majority of the sample was female, Germany had the highest proportion of male nurses (21.0%), followed by Greece (15.8%). A significantly larger proportion of nurses with longer experience and more education (78.8%) used a comprehensive definition of breakthrough cancer pain. Significant variations in training were found; 71% of Finnish nurses had received training compared with 6% of Greek nurses. Training and using a standardised assessment tool was associated with a significant increase in the nurses' perceived ability to distinguish between breakthrough and background pain. Nurses in countries with the highest proportion of training were most confident in supporting patients. In conclusion, there still exists problems with effective management of patients' breakthrough cancer pain, continuing inability to define the difference between background and breakthrough cancer pain leads to poor treatment.

The factors affecting nurses' assessments toward pain management in Saudi Arabia

“…Nurses' educational attainment and continuous training could be the major factor affecting pain management perception. [ 1 ] If pain is left untreated, then it can have detrimental effects on patients' mental, psychological, and physiological well-being. [ 2 ] Therefore, nurses are obligated to be knowledgeable on pain assessment and management to help guide patients through their extreme discomfort.…”

Knowledge and attitudes of nurses toward pain management

“…[ 4 5 ] Limited knowledge and negative attitude of nurses toward pain management were reported as major obstacles in the implementation of an effective pain management. [ 7 8 ] Nurses may have a negative perception, attitude, and misconception toward pain management. [ 6 9 10 ] Misconceptions include the belief that patients tend to seek attention rather report real pain, that the administration of opioids results in quick addiction, and that vital signs are the only way to reflect the presence of pain.…”

Patient Perspective on the Management of Cancer Pain in Spain

“…This further highlights the need to not only educate patients but also health care professionals. Additionally, significant differences were found on nurses’ training on pain management across 12 European countries ( 32 ). Initiatives to improve pain management by health care professionals could include mandatory palliative care rotations for trainees, developing multidisciplinary teams, creating educational courses, and encouraging interdisciplinary work ( 33 ).…”