Suffering, pain, and support strategies: Patient and caregiver perception,Sufrimiento, dolor y estrategias de cuidado: Percepción de pacientes y cuidadores

Objectives: a) to identify differences in the perception of patient pain and suffering between patients and caregivers; b) to describe the strategies used to alleviate patient suffering; and c) to determine the relationship between the strategies used by caregivers and patient suffering levels. Materials and methods: the sample was conformed by patients with cancer (CP) and non-cancer pain (NCP) who attended pain and palliative care services, and by their caregivers. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with patients and caregivers. Descriptive analyses were performed for socio-demographic and clinical data, and support strategies received by patients and delivered by caregivers in each group, as well as a comparative analysis between pain and suffering levels as indicated by patients and caregivers, and the strategies used by caregivers versus patient suffering. Results: the sample was composed of 148 patients and 131 caregivers. A high correlation between patient and caregiver perception of pain and suffering was found both for CP and NCP groups. The most common strategies used were mixed, followed by the affective and instrumental types. Caregivers in the CP group used more affective strategies, and those in the NCP group used all types of strategies. There was no relation between strategy used and patient suffering extent. Conclusions: the concordance in patient and caregiver perceptions may be due to a strong relationship between them, given the high familiarity and the type of relations encountered in Latin-American societies, which can affect in a positive way the relief of suffering. Caregivers can play an important role by facilitating treatments offered by health teams. Patients with pain, either with cancer or other pain conditions, are at risk of experiencing suffering. This can be perceived in a higher or lesser degree by the patient's caregiver, who may influence strategies used to alleviate their suffering. Copyright © 2008 Arán Ediciones, S.L.