Cancer Pain Management: Teaching Program for Terminally ill Cancer Patients

Although cancer patients experience multiple physical symptoms as well as psychological, the symptom of pain is considered as most critical. Unrelieved pain affects all dimensions of quality of life including the ability to achieve a peaceful death. The prevalence of cancer pain is estimated as 25% for those newly diagnosed, 33% for those undergoing active treatment and greater than 75% for those with advanced disease.

The aim of the study is to assess the effect of structured teaching program regarding pain management on knowledge of terminally ill cancer patients in selected hospital, Kanyakumari District.

A quantitative Approach with one group pretest post test pre-experimental research design was adopted to carry out the study. Data were collected using questionnaire from 30 samples selected by purposive sampling.

In pretest, 50% of them had inadequate knowledge regarding pain management, 46.7% of them had moderately adequate knowledge and 3.3% of them had adequate knowledge. After teaching program, 20% of them had adequate knowledge 70% of them had moderately adequate knowledge and only 10% had inadequate knowledge regarding pain management. The calculated ‘t’ value (2.97) was higher than the table value at 0.05 level of significance.

Pain is one of the common factors which decide the quality of life among terminally ill cancer patients. The knowledge regarding pain helps them to cope with their journey with cancer. Structured teaching program improve their knowledge regarding pain and thus help to adjust their journey accordingly.