Abstract
ObjectiveTo compare gender differences in pain management among adult cancer patients in Saudi Arabia and to explore the predictors associated with attitudinal barriers of cancer patients to pain management.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 325 cancer patients from tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia.ResultOf the total participants, 67.4% were women (N = 219) and 32.6% were men (N = 106). The overall mean scores of the attitudinal barriers questionnaire were 49.51 ± 13.73 in men and 54.80 ± 22.53 in women. The analysis shows significant differences in scores in subscales of tolerance (men = 7.48 ± 2.37), (women = 8.41 ± 3.01) (p = 0.003) and fear of distraction in the course of treatment (men = 6.55 ± 1.34), and (women = 7.15 ± 2.63) (p = 0.008). Female patients reported a more moderate to severe level of pain than men (worst pain in last week of 7.07 ± 1.50, worst pain in last week of 5.84 ± 2.65, respectively). Splitting by gender, the significant predictor for physiology effect domains in male cancer patients includes age, marital status, employment status, monthly income, cancer type, and presence of comorbid disease (p < 0.050). Age was a significant predictor of the domains of fatalism, communication, and harmful effects (p < 0.050) among female cancer patients.ConclusionThe present study revealed significant differences between men and women with attitudinal barriers to cancer pain management. Managing pain requires the involvement of all methods in a comprehensive manner, thus unalleviated pain influences the patient’s psychological or cognitive aspect.
Highlights
Pain is a common and burdensome symptom among cancer patients
Cancer pain is believed to be Gender Difference in Cancer Pain Management a significant problem among cancer patients as most of the patients are already terminal upon diagnosis and the fatality of these patients is anticipated to consecutively increase (Al-Shahri, 2009)
Concerning the factors associated with attitudinal barriers to pain management, it was found that age, gender, marital status, employment status, cancer type, and presence of comorbid disease emerged as significant predictors
Summary
67.4% were women (N = 219) and 32.6% were men (N = 106). The overall mean scores of the attitudinal barriers questionnaire were 49.51 ± 13.73 in men and 54.80 ± 22.53 in women. The analysis shows significant differences in scores in subscales of tolerance (men = 7.48 ± 2.37), (women = 8.41 ± 3.01) (p = 0.003) and fear of distraction in the course of treatment (men = 6.55 ± 1.34), and (women = 7.15 ± 2.63) (p = 0.008). The significant predictor for physiology effect domains in male cancer patients includes age, marital status, employment status, monthly income, cancer type, and presence of comorbid disease (p < 0.050). Age was a significant predictor of the domains of fatalism, communication, and harmful effects (p < 0.050) among female cancer patients
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