Devine, E.C. (2003). Meta-analysis of the effect of psychoeducational interventions on pain in adults with cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 30(1), 75–89.
To obtain estimates of the effect of selected psychoeducational interventions on pain in patients with cancer
The search retrieved 50 studies. Authors eliminated 25 studies on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Authors did not describe the method of evaluation.
Most studies demonstrated that psychoeducational interventions had at least a small positive effect on pain in patients with cancer.
Further well-designed research in this area is needed. The complexity of cancer-related pain presents a number of challenges inherent in this research; authors outline these challenges. Psychoeducational interventions may be more acceptable to some patients than others, as high attrition rates suggest. In addition, rating pain is a subjective activity. The efficacy of an intervention may differ with cancer phase and with different pain severity. These factors should affect selection of intervention type.