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Pain in cancer patients: pain assessment by patients and family caregivers and problems experienced by caregivers

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An Erratum to this article was published on 23 April 2015

Abstract

Background and objective

Pain is among the most important symptoms in terms of prevalence and a major cause of distress for cancer patients and their family caregivers. Thus, we conducted this study with the aim to compare assessment of pain among cancer patients and their caregivers and to determine the problems experienced by caregivers.

Methods

A cross-sectional and descriptive design was used. This study was conducted in a chemotherapy unit and an adult oncology clinic with 220 patients diagnosed with cancer who admitted to an oncology hospital and 220 caregivers. The study data was collected using a questionnaire and visual analogue scale (VAS, where “0: no pain,” “10: severe pain”). Statistically significant levels were set at p < 0.05.

Results

Pain severity as assessed by patients and their caregivers was 7.1 ± 2.8 and 7.3 ± 2.4, respectively, and the most common pain-related problems in cancer patients were fatigue (p < 0.05), loss of appetite and insomnia (p > 0.05) as reported by both patients and caregivers. Compared to their caregivers, patients more frequently reported financial burden associated with pain management and negative effects of cancer pain on their work life and domestic life and family relationships, all of which were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The caregivers most commonly reported fatigue (56.8 %) in their role as a caregiver.

Conclusion

Pain assessments of both patients and caregivers and seeking their input on how to manage potential pain-related problems are crucial to achieve adequate pain control. In addition, psychological distress experienced by caregivers should not be overlooked.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the caregivers who agreed to participate in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gaziantep University, Faculty of Health Science, Gaziantep, 27310, Turkey

    Özlem Ovayolu & Nimet Ovayolu

  2. Gaziantep University Medical Faculty Hospital, Gaziantep, 27310, Turkey

    Sema Aytaç & Sibel Serçe

  3. School of Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology, Gaziantep Oncology Hospital, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, 27310, Turkey

    Alper Sevinc

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  1. Özlem Ovayolu
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  2. Nimet Ovayolu
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Correspondence to Özlem Ovayolu.

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Ovayolu, Ö., Ovayolu, N., Aytaç, S. et al. Pain in cancer patients: pain assessment by patients and family caregivers and problems experienced by caregivers. Support Care Cancer 23, 1857–1864 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2540-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2540-5

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