Developing and testing a pain management program for family care givers of advanced cancer patients

Increasingly, advanced cancer patients are receiving care in the community supported by families and hospice home care services. However, little or no preparation is provided to family caregivers who assume this supportive role, often 24 hours per day. Pain management is consistently identified by family caregivers as their primary concern related to care and support of a loved one with advanced cancer. This paper describes Phases I and II of a three-phase program of research to develop and test pain management interventions that will provide family caregivers of advanced cancer patients with information and skills to manage the patient's pain. Phase I involved the development of a pain management program (PMP) for this group of families using relevant literature and qualitative methods to elicit information about the components of a pain education program that would be helpful to families. The PMP consists of 4 sequenced, interactive education sessions, a Daily Comfort Diary and a video. In Phase II the PMP was pilot tested to determine the extent to which the instruments were sensitive and psychometrically sound. The PMP was administered to a sample of 33 family caregivers of advanced cancer patients receiving care in a home hospice service over a 4-month period. Phase II results show that the PMP is feasible and acceptable to family caregivers. Instrument testing reports significance at all levels.

Associated Publication(s):
Oldham L, Kristjanson LJ. Development of a pain management programme for family carers of advanced cancer patients. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 2004 Feb; 10(2): 91-9