Patients' satisfaction with cancer pain treatment at adult oncologic centers in Northern Ethiopia; a multi-center cross-sectional study

• Published in: BMC cancer Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 647 - 9
• Main Authors: Amsalu, Molla, Ashagrie, Henos Enyew, Getahun, Amare Belete, Berhe, Yophtahe Woldegerima
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 27-05-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Analgesia; Analgesics; Analysis; Cancer; Cancer Care Facilities - statistics & numerical data; Cancer pain; Cancer Pain - drug therapy; Cancer Pain - psychology; Cancer pain treatment; Cancer patients; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Drug therapy; Ethics; Ethiopia - epidemiology; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Likert scale; Male; Medical prognosis; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Narcotics; Neoplasms - complications; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - psychology; Nurses; Opioids; Pain; Pain management; Pain Management - methods; Pain Measurement; Pain perception; Patient compliance; Patient satisfaction; Patient Satisfaction - statistics & numerical data; Patients; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Sample size; Sampling techniques; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment satisfaction; Young Adult; Ethiopia; Germany; Cancer pain; Pain; Patient satisfaction; Treatment satisfaction; Cancer pain treatment
• ISSN: 1471-2407; 1471-2407
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-024-12359-7

Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of the quality of healthcare. Pain is one of the most common symptoms among cancer patients that needs optimal treatment; rather, it compromises the quality of life of patients.
To assess the levels and associated factors of satisfaction with cancer pain treatment among adult patients at cancer centers found in Northern Ethiopia in 2023.
After obtaining ethical approval, a multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted at four cancer care centers in northern Ethiopia. The data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire that included the Lubeck Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (LMSQ). The severity of pain was assessed by a numerical rating scale from 0 to 10 with a pain score of 0 = no pain, 1-3 = mild pain, 4-6 = moderate pain, and 7-10 = severe pain Binary logistic regression analysis was employed, and the strength of association was described in an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval.
A total of 397 cancer patients participated in this study, with a response rate of 98.3%. We found that 70.3% of patients were satisfied with their cancer pain treatment. Being married (AOR = 5.6, CI = 2.6-12, P < 0.001) and being single (never married) (AOR = 3.5, CI = 1.3-9.7, P = 0.017) as compared to divorced, receiving adequate pain management (AOR = 2.4, CI = 1.1-5.3, P = 0.03) as compared to those who didn't receive it, and having lower pain severity (AOR = 2.6, CI = 1.5-4.8, P < 0.001) as compared to those who had higher level of pain severity were found to be associated with satisfaction with cancer pain treatment.
The majority of cancer patients were satisfied with cancer pain treatment. Being married, being single (never married), lower pain severity, and receiving adequate pain management were found to be associated with satisfaction with cancer pain treatment. It would be better to enhance the use of multimodal analgesia in combination with strong opioids to ensure adequate pain management and lower pain severity scores.