Keefe, F.J., Ahles, T.A., Sutton, L., Dalton, J., Baucom, D., Pope, M.S., . . . Scipio, C. (2005). Partner-guided cancer pain management at the end of life: A preliminary study. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 29, 263–272.
Intervention goals were to
Three 45- to 60-minute face-to-face sessions with an RN educator for training in pain management strategies were delivered over one to two weeks. Educators were knowledgeable about cancer pain and skilled in coping skills training interventions. Four educators were used, and quality assurance plans were described.
For sessions 2 and 3, the educator guided participants through skills, partners were asked to serve as coach, and the educator provided feedback.
Following completion of the three sessions, the educator reviewed the coping skills found most useful and developed a maintenance plan.
Home setting
A properly randomized, controlled trial design was used (with small sample size). Power analysis was not reported.
A trend toward reporting lower levels of caregiver strain (p = 0.06) existed.
Partners receiving the intervention reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy for helping patients control pain and significantly higher levels of self-efficacy for helping patients control other symptoms.
No significant difference was found in positive or negative mood.