Barriers to adequate pain control among women with cervical cancer: exploring unmet pain control needs in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Pain because of cervical cancer is a significant health issue globally, especially in women with advanced disease. However, little is known about unmet needs for pain control in low-resource settings where the burden of cervical cancer is the greatest. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to quantify the level of pain that women with cervical cancer in Ghana experience, explore attitudes toward pain and pain medications, and determine the barriers to adequate pain control. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 100 adult women with a histopathologic diagnosis of cervical cancer presenting for care at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana. In addition, a descriptive analysis was conducted among all participants and the subgroup of women who reported pain but did not report pain medication use. RESULTS: Among 100 participants with cervical cancer, the mean age was 59.5 years, and the median parity was 6.0 (interquartile range, 5.0–6.0); moreover, most participants presented with inoperable stage II or greater cervical cancer (99 of 100 [99%]). Of 100 participants, 80 (80%) had pain caused by their cervical cancer, with more than half (51 of 100 [51%]) rating their pain as a 3, 4, or 5 on a 5-point scale. Most participants reported pain significant enough to impact their sleep (58 of 99 [58.6%]) and their ability to carry out daily activities (54 of 100 [54%]). Furthermore, 55 of 100 participants (55%) took pain medications in the last week; however, only 5 of 54 participants (9.3%) reported complete improvement in their pain, and most participants (30 of 54 [55.6%]) felt they needed a stronger pain medication. Barriers to adequate pain control included the healthcare provider's focus on pain, with 14.1% of women reporting that their healthcare providers never asked about their pain (14 of 99 [14.1%]). In addition, participants’ attitudes toward pain control demonstrated that 34 of 95 participants (35.8%) believed that they should be able to tolerate their cervical cancer pain without medication. Among participants who ever took pain medication, 16 of 58 (27.6%) were bothered that they took pain medication, and 19 of 58 (32.7%) were concerned that they used too much medication. Most participants were able to afford (51 of 58 [88%]) and access (56 of 58 [96.6%]) pain medications and did not worry their supply would run out (56 of 58 [96.6%]). CONCLUSION: Most patients had significant pain because of cervical cancer, and many of them endorsed needing more pain medications than what they were prescribed. The etiologies of the unmet need for pain control included missed opportunities to discuss pain control at clinic visits and patients’ attitudes toward pain management. Financial and access barriers to obtaining pain medications were minimal.