癌症家屬對止痛劑的擔心與病人疼痛控制的相關性

The purpose of this study was to explore the possible association between the caregiver's concerns about using analgesics and the patient's pain management. This is a descriptive correlational study. Structured questionnaires were used to interview 52 Taiwanese cancer patients and their families. This study revealed that the worst pain level assessed by the caregiver within 24 hours before completing the questionnaires was significantly lower than that reported by patients. The highest scores of caregivers' concerns were ”disease progression”, ”time interval”, ”tolerance”, and ”addiction.” Seventeen caregivers (32.7%) reported that they had hesitated to give medication to their patient in the past month. These caregivers had significantly higher scores on ”fear of tolerance.” Fifteen caregivers (28.8%) reported that they had hesitated to report pain in the past month. These caregivers had significantly higher scores on ”fear of addiction”, ”fatalism”, ”side effects”, ”distracting physicians”, and ”tolerance.” We suggested that in order to achieve optimal pain management for cancer patients, one should consider the education of patients as well as caregivers.