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Clinicians’ practice and attitudes toward cancer pain management in Korea

  • Supportive Care International
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Abstract

Objectives

The purposes of this study were to assess clinicians’ (n = 250) current practices and attitudes about cancer pain management and to identify perceived concerns about and barriers to pain control in urban cancer-treatment settings in Korea.

Materials and methods

Survey data (20 items) were collected either by mail or interview. Approximately 40% of the sample were nurses. More medical clinicians than surgical clinicians had more than 5 years of experience with cancer care (43 vs 31%) and committed more than 30% of their working hours to palliation (61 vs 19%). Significantly more medical clinicians claimed to be somewhat more or much more liberal than their professional peers in using analgesics compared with surgical clinicians (54 vs 35%). The liberal sample was more likely to be male (OR = 3.3, p < 0.001) and to be more experienced with cancer care (OR = 1.2, p < 0.001). Medical clinicians also reported more adequate pain-management training and a more proactive approach to assessing and treating pain.

Results

Overall, the greatest concerns regarding opioid use were safety, side effects, and fear of addiction. Inadequate pain assessment and lack of staff knowledge and time were identified as barriers to pain management. Unrealistic expectations and denial from both patient and family were the most troublesome issues for delivery of care to dying patients. This study suggests a more conservative attitude toward cancer pain management in Korea than in other countries surveyed in a similar manner.

Conclusion

A combination of routine professional education and dissemination of guidelines is needed to bring about significant improvement in cancer pain control in Korea.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Hawn Foundation, Dallas, Texas, for its support of this project. We acknowledge with appreciation the assistance from Professor Hoon Kyo Kim, Yeon Jang, Tae Kwan Kim, Il Hae Seo, Chang Hyunk An, So Young Yang, Seong Hee Lee, Hematooncology and General Surgery nurse team of Saint Mary’s Hospital and Kangnam Saint Mary’s Hospital, Saint Vincent’s Hospital, and everyone who participated in this study. We also acknowledge with appreciation the editorial assistance of Ms. Jeanie F. Woodruff in the Department of Symptom Research at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Saint Vincent’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, 93-6 Chi-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon, 442-723, South Korea

    Yeon Soo Jeon

  2. Department of Hemato-oncology, Saint Vincent’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, 93-6 Chi-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon, 442-723, South Korea

    Hoon Kyo Kim

  3. Department of Symptom Research, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 221, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Charles S. Cleeland & Xin Shelley Wang

Authors
  1. Yeon Soo Jeon
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  2. Hoon Kyo Kim
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  3. Charles S. Cleeland
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  4. Xin Shelley Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xin Shelley Wang.

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Jeon, Y.S., Kim, H.K., Cleeland, C.S. et al. Clinicians’ practice and attitudes toward cancer pain management in Korea. Support Care Cancer 15, 463–469 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-006-0183-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-006-0183-x

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