Opioids in the Treatment of Pain. Beliefs, Knowledge, and Attitudes of the General Spanish Population. Identification of Subgroups Through Cluster Analysis

Abstract

The different perspectives of patients regarding the use of opioids to treat pain should be taken into consideration by the physician when designing strategies to inform patients about the treatment of pain with opioids. This should promote their correct use, specially preventing their misuse.

Unmet needs of patients with cancer in their last year of life as described by caregivers in a developing world setting: a qualitative study

“…Myths about morphine and misconceptions about hospice affected drug compliance and uptake of services. Opiophobia is a major barrier to effective pain control not restricted to resource-poor settings, but described worldwide [91][92][93][94][95][96]. Opiophobia among lay persons as well as health professionals must be addressed if cancer pain is to be effectively managed.…”

Living with opioids: A qualitative study with patients with chronic low back pain

“…15 Patients who experience CP could also face this quandary since opioids have been related to negative side effects, such as excessive sedation, respiratory failure, urinary retention or constipation. 16 These side effects, along with social, cultural and historical factors, have given rise to a set of attitudes and beliefs regarding the deleterious effects of opioid administration for pain relief. 17 The main reasons for this inappropriate set of attitudes and beliefs are the lack of knowledge regarding opioids and the stigmatization that some patients felt when prescribed opioids.…”

“…25 Fear of addiction might be an important reason why CP is often undertreated. 16 Recent literature 18,[26][27][28] has explored the experience of adults using prescription opioids to manage CNCP, concluding that there were many negative aspects to using opioids daily, in most cases these were outweighed by the positive effects, and most of the negative aspects were socioculturally induced rather than caused by the drug itself. However, these studies have been carried out in countries such as the United States or Canada, where the trend of opioid use has been accompanied by an increase in reported opioid abuse and opioid-related death 29 which is a different situation compared to Spain.…”

“…Despite the existence of clinical guidelines that regulate the correct use of opioids in the treatment of pain, 23,24 in Spain, CP management still remains weak 25 . Fear of addiction might be an important reason why CP is often undertreated 16 …”

Factores psicológicos asociados a la adherencia al tratamiento analgésico en pacientes con dolor crónico: Revisión sistemática de la literatura

“…A pesar de ello, el tratamiento farmacológico es fundamental para el control del DC, aunque la respuesta del paciente a estos tratamientos en muchas ocasiones no es óptima (11). Algunos estudios epidemiológicos han mostrado que entre el 50 y el 70 % de los pacientes con DC toma analgésicos para tratar el dolor, y que el 4 % utiliza opioides (6,12,13). Sin embargo, un alto porcentaje de ellos refieren dolor grave o insoportable (48,9 %) (2).…”