title: Partner-guided cancer pain management at the end of life: a preliminary study.
abstract: This preliminary study tested the efficacy of a partner-guided cancer pain management protocol for patients who are at the end of life. Seventy-eight advanced cancer patients meeting criteria for hospice eligibility and their partners were randomly assigned to a partner-guided pain management training intervention, or usual care control condition. The partner-guided pain management training protocol was a three-session intervention conducted in patients' homes that integrated educational information about cancer pain with systematic training of patients and partners in cognitive and behavioral pain coping skills. Data analyses revealed that the partner-guided pain management protocol produced significant increases in partners' ratings of their self-efficacy for helping the patient control pain and self-efficacy for controlling other symptoms. Partners receiving this training also showed a trend to report improvements in their levels of caregiver strain. Overall, the results of this preliminary study suggest that a partner-guided pain management protocol may have benefits in the context of cancer pain at the end of life. Given the significance of pain at the end of life, future research in this area appears warranted.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Francis J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Keefe
authors.forename: Tim A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ahles
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.forename: JoAnn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baucom
authors.forename: Mary Susan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pope
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McKinstry
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Furstenberg
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Syrjala
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: Daphne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rumble
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scipio
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D059408:Pain Management; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D018454:Spouses / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000379:methods*