Management of Persistent Nonmalignant Pain

Patient and Caregiver Education

An important component of setting realistic pain-relief goals is patient education. Patient education includes discussion of the goals of therapy and provides information about pain and its assessment and methods for pain relief. Patient education should also address patient fears, barriers to pain management, and any misconceptions the patient may have about the cause or treatment of their pain.

Patients and/or caregivers might be educated about the use of a pain diary to record pain intensity, associated activities that may exacerbate their pain, medication use and response to treatment; information from the diary may help guide management strategies. All educational activities should be sensitive to culture, ethnicity, and the values and beliefs of individual patients and their families.