Effect of Pain Coping Skills Training on Pain and Pain Medication Use for Women With Breast Cancer

Overview

Journal J Pain Symptom Manage

Publisher Elsevier

Specialties Critical Care
Pharmacology
Psychiatry

Date 2023 Apr 7

PMID 37028732

Authors

Hannah M Fisher

Kelly A Hyland

Joseph G Winger

Shannon N Miller

Grace H Amaden

Allison K Diachina

Sarah A Kelleher

Tamara J Somers

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Context: Pain is distressing for women with breast cancer. Pain medication may not provide full relief and can have negative side-effects. Cognitive-behavioral pain intervention protocols reduce pain severity and improve self-efficacy for pain management. These interventions' impact on pain medication use is less clear. Intervention length and coping skills use might play a role in pain outcomes.

Objectives: Secondary analysis to examine differences in pain severity, pain medication use, pain self-efficacy, and coping skill use after five- and one-session cognitive-behavioral pain intervention protocols. Pain self-efficacy and coping skills use were assessed as mediators of intervention effects on pain and pain medication use.

Methods: Women (N = 327) with stage I-III breast cancer were enrolled in a randomized trial comparing individually-delivered, five- and one-session pain coping skills training (PCST). Pain severity, pain medication use, pain self-efficacy, and coping skills use were assessed preintervention and five to eight weeks later (postintervention).

Results: Pain and pain medication use significantly decreased, while pain self-efficacy increased pre-post for women randomized to both conditions (P's <.05). Five-session PCST participants demonstrated less pain (P =.03) and pain medication use (P =.04), and more pain self-efficacy (P =.02) and coping skills use (P =.04) at postintervention compared to one-session PCST participants. Pain self-efficacy mediated the relationship of intervention condition with pain and pain medication use.

Conclusion: Both conditions led to improvements in pain, pain medication use, pain self-efficacy, and coping skills use, and 5-session PCST showed the greatest benefits. Brief cognitive-behavioral pain intervention improve pain outcomes, and pain self-efficacy may play a role in these effects.

Citing Articles

Implementation of pharmaceutical strategies using the PDCA cycle for standardized management of cancer pain medications.

Luo W, Huang H, Zhou Y, Min J, Wang C Support Care Cancer. 2025; 33(3):163.

PMID: 39920344 PMC: 11805850. DOI: 10.1007/s00520-025-09228-9.

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