Assessment of pain and analgesic use in African American cancer patients: factors related to adherence to analgesics.

Abstract

This study describes pain experience, analgesic use and barriers to pain control in African American cancer patients (N = 116). The overall adherence rate of analgesics was 46%. Constipation and nausea were the most commonly cited side effects of analgesics. Eighty-seven percent of patients reported concern about addiction to analgesics. Patients who believed their doctor needed to focus on curing illness rather than on controlling pain tended to comply with analgesic prescriptions (r = 0.20, p < 0.05). Patients with concerns that analgesics may cause confusion were less likely to take any type of analgesics (r = -0.16, p < 0.05). The study confirms that a patient's perceived barriers influence their decision to take analgesics, and also suggests that African American cancer patients may benefit from education that prevents misconceptions about analgesic use.

• Authors: Young O Rhee, Eugenia Kim, Bryant Kim
• Journal: Journal of immigrant and minority health (J Immigr Minor Health) Vol. 14 Issue 6 Pg. 1045-51 (Dec 2012) ISSN: 1557-1920 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 22367628 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Analgesics

Topics

• Black or African American (psychology, statistics & numerical data)
• Analgesics (therapeutic use)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Medication Adherence (psychology, statistics & numerical data)
• Middle Aged
• Neoplasms (complications)
• Pain (drug therapy, etiology)
• Pain Measurement