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The cancer pain experience of Israeli adults 65 years and older: the influence of pain interference, symptom severity, and knowledge and attitudes on pain and pain control

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Abstract

Goals

Little is known about Israeli elders’ cancer pain experience. The purpose of this study was to explore the cancer pain experience, including pain intensity, pain management index, pain interference, symptom severity, and knowledge and attitudes toward pain and pain control.

Patients and methods

Descriptive cross-sectional methods were used to obtain data with four instruments. The patients were 39 Israelis 65 years and older who were receiving outpatient treatment for cancer in a major hospital center in Israel.

Results

Results showed that over half (56.7%) reported severe worst pain and had negative pain management indexes (56.4%). In addition, knowledge and attitudes toward pain and pain control were poor (54.55%). There were no significant relationships between pain intensity and other variables. However, pain interference demonstrated a significant positive relationship with symptom severity. Post hoc analysis revealed that Ashkenazi Jewish and more educated patients reported significantly less pain interference than Sephardic Jewish patients.

Conclusion

Larger samples representative of the cultural differences in Israel are needed to more definitively identify elements of the cancer pain experience in Israeli elders that can be addressed to improve pain management.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by the Oncology Nursing Society Foundation/Purdue Frederick Trish Green Research Grant to Dr. Musgrave. The grant was submitted and funded while Dr. Musgrave was a postdoctoral research fellow in Psychosocial Oncology (5T32 NR07036) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Dr. McGuire was a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania during this time, and she and Drs. Cohen and Strumpf were coinvestigators on this grant, and the manuscript was completed while she was a Visiting Scientist at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Symptom Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Nursing, 6901 Bertner Ave, Rm. 583, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Marlene Z. Cohen

  2. Department of Symptom Research, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Marlene Z. Cohen & Tito R. Mendoza

  3. Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Marlene Z. Cohen

  4. Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing, Jerusalem, Israel

    Catherine F. Musgrave

  5. University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Deborah B. McGuire

  6. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Neville E. Strumpf

  7. Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Mark F. Munsell

  8. Department of Oncology, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    Maya Gips

Authors
  1. Marlene Z. Cohen
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  2. Catherine F. Musgrave
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  3. Deborah B. McGuire
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  4. Neville E. Strumpf
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  5. Mark F. Munsell
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  6. Tito R. Mendoza
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  7. Maya Gips
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Correspondence to Marlene Z. Cohen.

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Cohen, M.Z., Musgrave, C.F., McGuire, D.B. et al. The cancer pain experience of Israeli adults 65 years and older: the influence of pain interference, symptom severity, and knowledge and attitudes on pain and pain control. Support Care Cancer 13, 708–714 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-005-0781-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-005-0781-z

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