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Congruence of cancer pain experience between patients and family caregivers and associated factors: a multicenter cross-sectional study in China

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Abstract

Purpose

The purposes of this study were to determine whether there were differences in the cancer pain experience between patients and family caregivers (FCGs) and to explore the associated factors that influence cancer pain experience congruence.

Methods

A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 410 patient-family caregiver dyads completed face-to-face surveys, including information about basic characteristics, the Patient Pain Questionnaire (PPQ), and the Family Pain Questionnaire (FPQ). The difference in cancer pain experience between patients and family caregivers was analyzed using a paired t test. Indicators for the congruence of cancer pain experience were analyzed using the chi-square test and two independent-sample t tests for bivariate analysis and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis.

Results

Of the patients, 57.1% were men, and 60.7% perceived moderate performance status. The majority of the family caregivers was female (54.9%). The mean (SD) score on the pain experience subscale was 4.82 (1.66) for 410 patients and 5.02 (1.66) for 410 family caregivers. The difference was significant (P < 0.01). Additionally, 87 (21.2%) dyads were in the congruent group, and 323 (78.8%) dyads were in the incongruent group. Patients’ self-perceived moderate performance status (OR = 2.983, P < 0.01) and family caregivers’ pain knowledge (OR = 1.171, P < 0.05) were the main factors influencing the congruence of cancer pain experience.

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicate that family caregivers reported significantly worse cancer pain experiences than patients. Family caregivers’ pain knowledge was a primary influencing factor. It is suggested that educational interventions aimed at teaching family caregivers and patients how to communicate their pain experience and improving the knowledge of family members regarding pain and its management may help in aligning their perceptions and thereby contribute to better quality of life and pain management outcomes.

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Data and material availability

The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

SPSS version 20.0(IBM Corp., NY, USA), which was download from Peking University Health Science Library.

Funding

This work was supported by Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Incubating Program, coding: PX2017052, and was supported by Yuhan Lu.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nursing Administrative Department, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, NO. 52 Fucheng Road, Haidian district, Beijing, 100142, China

    Xiaoxiao Ma, Wenhua Yu, Yuhan Lu, Hong Yang, Xin Li & Dongqin Kang

Authors
  1. Xiaoxiao Ma
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  2. Wenhua Yu
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  3. Yuhan Lu
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  4. Hong Yang
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  5. Xin Li
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  6. Dongqin Kang
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Contributions

Yuhan Lu, Xiaoxiao Ma, and Wenhua Yu designed the study.

Xiaoxiao Ma, Xin Li and Dongqin Kang collected the clinical data.

Yuhan Lu, Xiaoxiao Ma, Hong Yang, and Wenhua Yu contributed to the data analysis and data interpretation.

Xiaoxiao Ma wrote the manuscript.

Yuhan Lu approved the last version of the manuscript.

All the authors read and approved the final manuscript. And we thank Yushuang He, Tingting Hu, Xuerong Liu, Xiaolei Yu, Fengxia Wang, and Weifeng Li for their help in the implementation of the project.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuhan Lu.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University Cancer Hospital. Informed consent: The written informed consent was obtained.

Consent to participate

Research assistants explained the study purpose, procedures, and participants’ role in the study to all prospective participants before they started. Patients and family caregivers were informed that the autonomy to participate or withdraw in this study at any time was respected.

Consent for publication

N/A

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no competing interests.

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Cite this article

Ma, X., Yu, W., Lu, Y. et al. Congruence of cancer pain experience between patients and family caregivers and associated factors: a multicenter cross-sectional study in China. Support Care Cancer 29, 5983–5990 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06156-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06156-2

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