Presented at the 2012 AAPM Annual Meeting « Back

Medication Taking Attitude/Behavior is Influenced by Relationships: Results from the CARE Scale Online Survey

Beth D. Darnall, PhD, darnallb@ohsu.edu¹, Anna C. Wilson, PhD², Donald A. Pierce, PhD³, (1) Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, (2) Development Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, (3) Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon

Introduction: The impact of close relationships on pain management is understudied in chronic pain populations. However, daily activities and self care are integral to effective pain management and may predict pain medication usage. We examined whether relationships, self-care and limit setting capacity were related to endorsement of pain medication use; sex differences were also tested. Materials and Methods: A survey was posted online and advertised via chronic pain websites. Those with pain for ≥3 months were invited to take the anonymous survey comprised of the 22-item CARE Scale (comprised of 4 subscales: Locus of Care orientation (Internal and External), Limit Setting Capacity, and Relationship Guilt/Fear related to pain) and items for sex, marital status, dependents, and primary caretaker status. Using multiple rank regression, response to the item: "If I push myself too hard, I can always take medication for the pain" was regressed on the components of each subscale group. The study was IRB approved. Results: The chronic pain sample was 495 adults (mean age =48.3, SD = 12.8, 86.5% female), predominantly married (56.5%), with dependents (54.6%), and primary caretaker status (70.9%). Pain medication taking behavior related to poor pacing was significantly predicted by each subscale: Internal Locus of Care (R²= 0.05), External Locus of Care (R²=0.07), Limit Setting Capacity (R²=0.18) and Relationship Guilt/Fear (R²=0.09); all p-values <0.0001. Significant sex differences were found for each subscale. Conclusions: Relationship factors significantly impact pacing and medication taking attitude/behavior, particularly for women. Future research will validate these findings in a pain clinic sample. 

Funding: Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University