Improving Functional Status in African Americans With Cancer Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

The trial included only African American patients with cancer pain, so the results may not apply to other groups. Patients with metastases were lost more often from the intervention group than from the control group. Primary outcome data were collected by intervention nurses during contacts, so the analysis relied on self-report in a setting where the intervention nurses also delivered care. The intervention combined medication management, pain advocacy, and living with pain, so the study cannot identify which component drove the effect. The control condition is described only as data collection by nurses who were told not to intervene, so usual care is not clear.

The supplied article text does not include a conflicts-of-interest declaration. The publication types indicate NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.

Do not conclude that the coaching reduced cancer pain more than control. Pain did not differ significantly between groups, although distress and function improved.