A survey on physician knowledge and attitudes towards clinical use of morphine for cancer pain treatment in China.
BACKGROUND
The WHO's three-step guideline for cancer pain management has been introduced in China; however, there remain large differences in the standards of cancer pain management between China and other developed countries. This survey was carried out to determine the degree of physician knowledge on morphine use and the factors that impede morphine use in clinical practice in China.


METHODS
A self-reported questionnaire was designed and administered to randomly selected physicians in four tertiary hospitals in the cities of Changchun and Changsha in China. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS statistical software.


RESULTS
Two hundred and one clinical physicians participated in the survey. Physicians who reported having received training in cancer pain management and drug use demonstrated a significantly higher mean score of basic knowledge compared to physicians who reported not having received training (9.31 ± 2.88:8.23 ± 2.70, u = 2.74, p < 0.001). The top three cited impediments to widespread clinical use of morphine for cancer pain were: (1) lack of professional knowledge and training; (2) fear of opioid addiction; and (3) physicians' personal preferences to select other drugs.


CONCLUSIONS
Medical staffs lack the basic knowledge and harbor misconceptions about the clinical use of morphine for cancer pain treatment. Creating training opportunities for medical staffs is necessary to increase their awareness and knowledge of effective cancer pain management.
Yanjun
Su
S
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin Lung Cancer Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin 300060, People's Republic of China.
Changli
Wang
W
Ling
Weng
W
Woo
Jennifer Catherine Ai-Lian
JC
Sabrina
Kwauk
K
Chang
Liu
L
Lei
Zhang
Z
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002681:China; D003625:Data Collection; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009020:Morphine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D009020:Morphine