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A survey on physician knowledge and attitudes towards clinical use of morphine for cancer pain treatment in China

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Abstract

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service, and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled, “A survey on physician knowledge and attitudes towards clinical use of morphine for cancer pain treatment in China.”

Competing interests

None declared

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tianjin Lung Cancer Center, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, 300060, People’s Republic of China

    Su Yanjun, Wang Changli & Zhang Lei

  2. The Xiangya Medical School, Central-South University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Weng Ling

  3. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jennifer Catherine Ai-lian Woo & Kwauk Sabrina

  4. Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

    Liu Chang

Authors
  1. Su Yanjun
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  2. Wang Changli
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  3. Weng Ling
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  4. Jennifer Catherine Ai-lian Woo
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  5. Kwauk Sabrina
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  6. Liu Chang
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  7. Zhang Lei
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhang Lei.

Additional information

The authors Su Yanjun, Wang Changli, and Zhang Lei contributed equally to this paper.

Implications Statement

Physicians’ knowledge on the use of analgesic drugs in clinical practice, particularly morphine, has advanced considerably in China; however, misconceptions and inadequate knowledge about morphine for cancer pain management remains prevalent among Chinese physicians.

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Yanjun, S., Changli, W., Ling, W. et al. A survey on physician knowledge and attitudes towards clinical use of morphine for cancer pain treatment in China. Support Care Cancer 18, 1455–1460 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-009-0768-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-009-0768-2

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