The development of a Cancer Pain Belief Modification Program for patients with oral cancer in China: a feasibility study

Background Acceptance-based pain management interventions have been receiving growing attention in cancer pain care.

This study aimed to develop a cancer pain management program based on belief modification to improve the cancer pain experience of Chinese oral cancer survivors and to explore the acceptability and preliminary outcomes of the Cancer Pain Belief Modification Program (CPBMP).

Methods A mixed-methods approach was applied to develop and revise the program.

The CPBMP was developed and revised using the Delphi technique, and its further improvement was explored with a one-group pre- and post-trial designed with a sample of 16 Chinese oral cancer survivors, and semi-structured interviews.

Research instruments included Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Chinese version of Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised for Cancer Pain (IPQ-CaCP), and the University of Washington Quality of Life assessment scale (UW-QOL).

Descriptive statistics, t-test, and Mann–Whitney U test were used to analyse the data.

The semi-structured questions were analysed using content analysis.

Results The six-module CPBMP was endorsed by most experts and patients.

The expert authority coefficient value was 0.75 in the first round of the Delphi survey and 0.78 in the second round.

The “pain intense”, “negative pain beliefs” scores of pre- and post-testing decreased from 5.63 ± 0.48 to 0.81 ± 0.54 ( t  = -3.746, p  < 0.001); from 140.63 ± 9.02 to 52.75 ± 7.27 ( Z  = 12.406, p  < 0.001); and the “positive pain beliefs”, “quality of life” scores increased from 55.13 ± 4.54 to 66.00 ± 4.70 (Z = -6.983, p < 0.001); from 66.97 ± 15.01 to 86.69 ± 8.42 ( Z  = 7.283, p  < 0.001).

The qualitative data also indicated that CPBMP was well acceptable.

Conclusion Our study showed the acceptability and preliminary outcomes of CPBMP patients.

CPBMP improves the pain experience of Chinese oral cancer patients and provides a reference for cancer pain management in the future.

Trial registration The feasibility study has already been registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) ( www.chictr.org.cn ) in 11/09/2021.

(ChiCTR2100051065).