Identifying attitudinal barriers to family management
of cancer pain in palliative care in Taiwan
林佳靜
Lin CC;Wang P;Lai YL;Lin CL;Tsai SL;Chen TT
摘要
Abstract
The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to examine attitudes held by Taiwanese family caregivers of hospice inpatients with cancer that serve as barriers to cancer pain management; (2) to determine the relationship of attitudinal barriers to family caregiver hesitancy to report pain and to administer analgesics; and (3) to determine the relationship of attitudinal barriers to the adequacy of analgesics used by the patient. A total of 80 pairs of palliative care inpatients and their primary family caregivers participated in this study. Family caregivers completed the Barriers Questionnaire–Taiwan (BQT) form and a demographic questionnaire. The
instruments completed by patients consisted of the Brief Pain Inventory–Chinese version and a demographic questionnaire. The data revealed that Taiwanese family caregivers of palliative care patients with advanced cancer had concerns about reporting pain and administering analgesics, particularly as they related to disease progression, side-effects and p.r.n.
analgesics. Older and less-educated family caregivers scored significantly higher on the BQT than did their younger, more educated counterparts. Family caregivers‘ concerns measured by the BQT were related to family caregivers‘ reluctance to administer analgesics to their patients. Implications for a broader understanding of analgesics in the advancement of pain
