A National Online Forum on Ethnic Differences in Cancer Pain Experience

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chee W ; Guevara E ; Im E-O ; Lee SH ; Lim H-J ; Liu Y
• Description:
  Background: Cultural values and beliefs related to cancer and pain have been used to explain ethnic differences in cancer pain experience. Yet, very little is known about similarities and differences in cancer pain experience among different ethnic groups. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore similarities and differences in cancer pain experience among four major ethnic groups in the United States. Methods: A feminist approach by Hall and Stevens was used. This was a cross-sectional qualitative study among 22 White, 15 Hispanic, 11 African American, and 27 Asian patients with cancer recruited through both Internet and community settings. Four ethnic-specific online forums were conducted for 6 months. Nine topics related to cancer pain experience were used to guide the online forums. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis involving line-by-line coding, categorization, and thematic extraction. Results: All participants across ethnic groups reported "communication breakdowns" with their healthcare providers and experienced "changes in perspectives." All of them reported that their cancer pain experience was "gendered experience." White patients focused on how to control their pain and treatment selection process, whereas ethnic minority patients tried to control pain by minimizing and normalizing it. White patients sought out diverse strategies of pain management; ethnic minority patients tried to maintain normal lives and use natural modalities for pain management. Finally, the cancer pain experience of White patients was highly individualistic and independent, whereas that of ethnic minority patients was family oriented. Discussion: These findings suggest that nurses need to use culturally competent approaches to cancer pain management for different ethnic groups. Also, the findings suggest further in-depth cultural studies on the pain experience of multiethnic groups of patients with cancer. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Healthcare Disparities Minority Health Neoplasms Occupational Health Race Factors Safety Sex Characteristics
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cancer Cancer Cross Sectional Studies Culture Ethnic Minority Experience Gender Factors Health Disparities Minority Health Pain Pain Tolerance Qualitative Analysis Racial Factors Sociological Factors

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• ISSN:
  0029-6562
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  86-94
• Volume:
  58
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054097
• Citation:
  Nurs Res 2009 Mar-Apr; 58(2):86-94
• Contact Point Address:
  Eun-Ok Im, PhD, MPH, RN, CNS, FAAN, School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin, 1700 Red River, Austin, TX 78701
• Email:
  eim@mail.utexas.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Nursing Research
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e341280b778da2dda47a558a192032931a3cb124643ea57030024d3ba7a2b339a3a151abae3614fdde642bd7a0a81eea6474fc57d2c8f9a87c0afc09ef9631d8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216731/cdc_216731_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 152.21 KB ]