The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced Cancer
Cancer-related pain affects a majority of patients with advanced cancer and is often undertreated. The treatment of this pain is largely reliant on the use of opioids, which are essential medicines for symptom management and the maintenance of quality of life (QoL) for patients with advanced cancer....
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Current Oncology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/30/6/437 |
| _version_ | 1827737806362902528 |
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| author | Hannah Harsanyi Colleen Cuthbert Fiona Schulte |
| author_facet | Hannah Harsanyi Colleen Cuthbert Fiona Schulte |
| author_sort | Hannah Harsanyi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cancer-related pain affects a majority of patients with advanced cancer and is often undertreated. The treatment of this pain is largely reliant on the use of opioids, which are essential medicines for symptom management and the maintenance of quality of life (QoL) for patients with advanced cancer. While there are cancer-specific guidelines for the treatment of pain, widespread publication and policy changes in response to the opioid epidemic have drastically impacted perceptions of opioid use. This overview therefore aims to investigate how manifestations of opioid stigma impact pain management in cancer settings, with an emphasis on the experiences of patients with advanced cancer. Opioid use has been widely stigmatized in multiple domains, including public, healthcare, and patient populations. Physician hesitancy in prescribing and pharmacist vigilance in dispensing were identified as barriers to optimal pain management, and may contribute to stigma in the context of advanced cancer. Evidence in the literature suggests that opioid stigma may result in patient deviations from prescription instructions, which generally leads to pain undertreatment. Patients reflected on experiencing shame and fear surrounding their prescription opioid use and feeling uncomfortable communicating with their healthcare providers on these topics. Our findings indicate that future work is required to educate patients and providers in order to de-stigmatize opioid use. Through alleviating stigma, patients may be better able to make decisions regarding their pain management which lead to freedom from cancer-related pain and improved QoL. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:35:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ef65daef593484fae321ea47f9a8863 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1198-0052 1718-7729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:35:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Oncology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ef65daef593484fae321ea47f9a88632023-11-18T09:58:10ZengMDPI AGCurrent Oncology1198-00521718-77292023-06-013065835584810.3390/curroncol30060437The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced CancerHannah Harsanyi0Colleen Cuthbert1Fiona Schulte2Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, CanadaFaculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, CanadaDivision of Psychosocial Oncology, Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, CanadaCancer-related pain affects a majority of patients with advanced cancer and is often undertreated. The treatment of this pain is largely reliant on the use of opioids, which are essential medicines for symptom management and the maintenance of quality of life (QoL) for patients with advanced cancer. While there are cancer-specific guidelines for the treatment of pain, widespread publication and policy changes in response to the opioid epidemic have drastically impacted perceptions of opioid use. This overview therefore aims to investigate how manifestations of opioid stigma impact pain management in cancer settings, with an emphasis on the experiences of patients with advanced cancer. Opioid use has been widely stigmatized in multiple domains, including public, healthcare, and patient populations. Physician hesitancy in prescribing and pharmacist vigilance in dispensing were identified as barriers to optimal pain management, and may contribute to stigma in the context of advanced cancer. Evidence in the literature suggests that opioid stigma may result in patient deviations from prescription instructions, which generally leads to pain undertreatment. Patients reflected on experiencing shame and fear surrounding their prescription opioid use and feeling uncomfortable communicating with their healthcare providers on these topics. Our findings indicate that future work is required to educate patients and providers in order to de-stigmatize opioid use. Through alleviating stigma, patients may be better able to make decisions regarding their pain management which lead to freedom from cancer-related pain and improved QoL.https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/30/6/437cancer painopioid useadvanced cancersymptom managementstigma |
| spellingShingle | Hannah Harsanyi Colleen Cuthbert Fiona Schulte The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced Cancer Current Oncology cancer pain opioid use advanced cancer symptom management stigma |
| title | The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced Cancer |
| title_full | The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced Cancer |
| title_fullStr | The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced Cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced Cancer |
| title_short | The Stigma Surrounding Opioid Use as a Barrier to Cancer-Pain Management: An Overview of Experiences with Fear, Shame, and Poorly Controlled Pain in the Context of Advanced Cancer |
| title_sort | stigma surrounding opioid use as a barrier to cancer pain management an overview of experiences with fear shame and poorly controlled pain in the context of advanced cancer |
| topic | cancer pain opioid use advanced cancer symptom management stigma |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/30/6/437 |
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