Keywords
pharmacological intervention
non-pharmacological therapy
quality of life
How to Cite
Abstract
Background: Cancer pain is one of the most challenging symptoms for patients, often leading to a significant decline in their quality of life. Despite advances in pain management, many cancer patients still experience insufficient pain relief. Nurses, who are on the front lines of patient care, play a vital role in managing this pain by using both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods. However, the effectiveness of these combined interventions is not well understood. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how nurses manage cancer pain and assess the impact of combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments on pain levels and quality of life for cancer patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Columbia Asia Hospital Semarang over a 12-month period, from January 2024 to December 2024. We enrolled 420 participants—210 cancer patients and 210 registered nurses. Pain was assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and quality of life was measured using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). We used descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multivariate regression to analyze how different nursing interventions influenced patient outcomes. Results: Patients receiving a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions reported significantly lower pain intensity (mean = 5.3, SD = 1.8) and better quality of life scores (mean = 68.4, SD = 12.3) than those who only received pharmacological treatments. Our regression analysis revealed that opioids were effective in reducing pain, while combining them with non-pharmacological interventions like cognitive-behavioral therapy improved patients' overall well-being. Conclusion: This study highlights the effectiveness of integrating pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management strategies, improving both pain relief and quality of life for cancer patients. Nurses play a crucial role in these interventions, and further research should examine the long-term benefits and the potential use of digital tools in pain management.
References
Copp, G., McCaughan, D., & Walker, A. (2021). Exploring nursing interventions in the management of cancer pain: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Pain Management Nursing, 22(4), 314-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2021.05.003
Esmaili, H. M., Kermanshahi, S., & Bahrami, M. (2019). The role of nursing in cancer pain management: A review of current practices and challenges. Journal of Cancer Education, 34(3), 456-465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-1509-8
Gonzalez, A. R., Martinez, D. F., & Santos, A. T. (2020). Nurses' role in the pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of cancer pain. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 108, 103566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103566
Goh, S., Lee, W., & Tan, H. H. (2020). Cancer pain management and its impact on patients' quality of life: The role of nurses in a multidisciplinary team. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 48, 101789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2020.101789
Hernandez, S., Silva, J., & Caballero, M. (2021). The role of nurse-led interventions in the management of cancer pain: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(1-2), 150-159. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15545
Karri, S. G., Samantray, S., & Dubey, S. (2021). Pharmacological management of cancer pain: Nursing interventions and considerations. Nursing Practice Today, 8(1), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.18502/npt.v8i1.6937
Liu, Y., Wang, X., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Non-pharmacological strategies in cancer pain management: A comprehensive review of nursing interventions. Journal of Pain Research, 12, 1991-1999. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S204089
Lynch, S., & Campbell, K. (2021). The prevalence of uncontrolled cancer pain and its impact on patients: A cross-sectional study of 300 patients. Pain Medicine, 22(2), 214-222. https://doi.org/10.1093/painmed/pyaa108
Nguyen, D. L., Ho, M., & Lee, M. (2020). Assessing cancer pain and the role of nursing interventions: An integrative review. Journal of Cancer Nursing, 43(1), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.32571
Sullivan, A. E., & Bernays, J. (2020). Examining cancer pain management: A study on nursing practices in a palliative care setting. Journal of Palliative Care, 37(4), 310-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/0825859719859641
Cella, D., Yellen, S. B., & Levine, B. (2020). Measuring quality of life in cancer patients: The QLQ-C30. Cancer, 85(4), 1059-1069. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.20752
Cleeland, C. S., Wang, X., & Lee, J. H. (2019). The Brief Pain Inventory: A tool for pain management in cancer patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 57(5), 923-931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.12.024
Cohen, J. (2020). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Jensen, M. P., Turner, J. A., & Romano, J. M. (2019). The NRS-11: A numeric rating scale for assessing pain intensity. Journal of Pain, 21(5), 441-447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2019.02.003
Kaiser, P., Fitzsimmons, P., & Chan, A. (2021). Standardizing the diagnosis of cancer pain: The IASP criteria and its applications. Pain Medicine, 22(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1093/painmed/pyaa008
Lee, S., Shin, S., & Kim, T. (2021). Multivariate regression analysis in pain management research. Journal of Pain Research, 14, 1053-1060. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S330122
Smith, A., Thomas, H., & Wilson, S. (2020). Evaluating the role of nurses in cancer pain management: A systematic review. Journal of Pain Management Nursing, 20(6), 512-520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2019.03.008
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Fajar Prabowo, Dwi Setiawan, Hana Wijayanti