Barriers to Adequate Pain Control and Opioid Use Among Cancer Survivors: Implications for Nursing Practice.
Victoria Kate Marshall, Melody Chavez, Andrea Efre and 6 others
PMID 37607374WHAT IT FOUND
Cancer survivors described taking less opioid than prescribed because they feared addiction, and they said pain was often dismissed and care was delayed.
They also could not afford nonopioid options they wanted, such as acupuncture or massage.
Key findings
01Participants described taking less opioid medication than prescribed, using it sparingly, or stopping it abruptly because they feared addiction.
02Participants wanted nonopioid pain options such as topical creams, massage, and acupuncture, but many said insurance did not cover them or out-of-pocket costs were too high.
03Participants reported that persistent pain was often met with advice to take over-the-counter analgesics and that referral to pain specialists took weeks.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Most participants were from Florida, and new state legislation restricting opioid prescribing was in effect during data collection, which may have shaped access and experiences. The sample was mostly women with breast cancer and stage I-III disease, so results may not apply to other cancer types, advanced disease, or men. The study did not specify the type of pain, such as acute, chronic, or neuropathic pain. It was a qualitative pilot study with purposive community recruitment, so findings are not generalizable to all cancer survivors. The authors note that many participants had care from an NCI-designated cancer center with specific insurance criteria, which may explain why racial or ethnic disparities were not found in this sample.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include a conflict-of-interest statement. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research funds.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude from this paper that increasing opioid prescribing will solve cancer pain. It describes survivors' experiences and barriers, not the effect of any pain-management intervention.