Principal Investigator: Charles S. Cleeland, PhD

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Research Coordinator: Karen O. Anderson, PhD

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a pain management educational intervention developed for African American and Hispanic patients who are experiencing pain due to breast cancer. Our previous research results have demonstrated that minority cancer patients are at risk for inadequate pain management. The primary hypothesis of this study is that patients who receive culturally appropriate educational materials on pain management will demonstrate greater pain reduction when compared with a group receiving pain treatment without education on pain management.

Our specific goals are:

1) To determine if patient education on pain management improves cancer pain control in patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer

2) To determine if patient education on pain management reduces the impact of pain on daily life in patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer

3) To determine if patient education on pain management improves quality of life and functional status in patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer

Methods

Materials
Two sets of videotapes and booklets on cancer pain management were developed for African American and Hispanic women with breast cancer. The study is a multi-site randomized clinical trial designed to assess the effectiveness of these educational materials.

Design
Patients who are eligible for the study and agree to participate are randomly assigned to either pain management education or an educational control condition. All patients are followed for four assessment periods.

Measures
The outcome measures include the Brief Pain Inventory, SF-12 Health Survey, a measure of perceived pain control, and a physician pain assessment form.