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Assessment of Pain and Analgesic Use in African American Cancer Patients: Factors Related to Adherence to Analgesics

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Abstract

This study describes pain experience, analgesic use and barriers to pain control in African American cancer patients (N = 116). The overall adherence rate of analgesics was 46%. Constipation and nausea were the most commonly cited side effects of analgesics. Eighty-seven percent of patients reported concern about addiction to analgesics. Patients who believed their doctor needed to focus on curing illness rather than on controlling pain tended to comply with analgesic prescriptions (r = 0.20, p < 0.05). Patients with concerns that analgesics may cause confusion were less likely to take any type of analgesics (r = −0.16, p < 0.05). The study confirms that a patient’s perceived barriers influence their decision to take analgesics, and also suggests that African American cancer patients may benefit from education that prevents misconceptions about analgesic use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612-7350, USA

    Young O. Rhee

  2. 3021 Highland Ave., Wilmette, IL, 60091, USA

    Young O. Rhee

  3. Department of Economics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA

    Eugenia Kim

  4. Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Bryant Kim

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  1. Young O. Rhee
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  2. Eugenia Kim
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  3. Bryant Kim
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Correspondence to Young O. Rhee.

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Rhee, Y.O., Kim, E. & Kim, B. Assessment of Pain and Analgesic Use in African American Cancer Patients: Factors Related to Adherence to Analgesics. J Immigrant Minority Health 14, 1045–1051 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9582-x

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