Demographic, Clinical, and Pain Characteristics Are Associated With Average Pain Severity Groups in a Sample of Oncology Outpatients

Cut-points (CP) for pain severity are useful because they may help clinicians to identify patients with clinically significant pain. However, a need exists to evaluate whether different pain severity groups differ on selected demographic, clinical, and pain characteristics, as well as on factors that may be amenable to psychoeducational interventions such as self-efficacy for pain management, coping strategies, and barriers to pain management. In this cross-sectional study of 210 oncology outpatients with pain, an optimal CP of 4 was found using ratings of average pain intensity. The variables that provided a unique contribution to the prediction of membership in the >4 CP group were gender, presence of breakthrough pain, comorbidities, barriers to pain management, and total self-efficacy for pain management. In addition, patients in the >4 CP group reported lower scores on physical, role, cognitive, and global health function.PerspectiveAn average pain CP of >4 could be used to screen oncology outpatients with clinically significant pain. Clinicians must consider a number of demographic, clinical, and pain characteristics as part of their pain assessment procedures. The effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions aimed at barriers and patients self-efficacy for pain management need to be tested.