Patient satisfaction with management of chronic pain

Abstract

This cross-sectional study investigated patient satisfaction with pain management in a group of 73 chronic pain patients being treated in a specialty pain clinic. Potential predictors of satisfaction were examined, including pain intensity, the patient-physician relationship, health status, and sociodemographic variables.;Results revealed that 65% to 70% of the sample was satisfied with their care. No linear relationship was found between pain or health status and satisfaction. However, quadratic relationships emerged for both of these variables. Specifically, patients who reported "moderate" pain (ratings of "4"--"6" out of "10") were significantly more satisfied on the American Pain Society Patient Outcomes Questionnaire (APS-POQ; American Pain Society Quality of Care Committee, 1995) than patients with lower or more severe pain (R2 = .09, p < .05). Likewise, patients who rated their health as "fair" were significantly more satisfied on the APS-POQ than those reporting "poor," "good," and "very good," health (R2 = .15, p < .01). Significant correlations revealed that women and more highly educated patients were more likely to be dissatisfied with care. The role of the physician-patient relationship as a predictor of satisfaction was unable to be tested due to psychometric findings that the "Interpersonal" and "Communication" satisfaction subscales lacked divergent validity from global satisfaction.;This study contributes data to the sparse literature that currently exists on satisfaction with chronic pain management. Results encourage further exploration of patient satisfaction among chronic pain patients, with particular attention being given to gender differences and patients falling into the low or high categories of the pain/health continuum. Examination of potential explanations for the current findings should also be addressed, including patient expectations for pain relief, extent of pain relief, compliance with treatment, side-effect burden, pain interference with functionality, and psychological distress among chronic pain patients.