Coping With Pain Severity, Distress, and Consequences in Women With Ovarian Cancer

Stephanie Gilbertson-White; Grace Campbell; Sandra Ward; Paula Sherwood; Heidi Donovan

doi:10.1097/NCC.0000000000000376

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Coping With Pain Severity, Distress, and Consequences in Women With Ovarian Cancer

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Coping With Pain Severity, Distress, and Consequences in Women With Ovarian Cancer

Stephanie Gilbertson-White, Grace Campbell, Sandra Ward, Paula Sherwood and Heidi Donovan

Cancer nursing, Vol.40(2), pp.117-123

03/2017

DOI: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000376

PMCID: PMC5065731

PMID: 27088608

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Abstract

Self-regulation can be useful in understanding pain management efforts in women with ovarian cancer. Self-regulation is a parallel process of problem- and emotion-focused coping; problem-focused coping involves efforts aimed at solving/reducing the problem directly, whereas emotion-focused coping is aimed at managing negative emotions. The aims of this study were to describe the types of problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies used to manage pain severity, distress, and consequences and to evaluate whether there was evidence of parallel processing (ie, use of a combination of both problem- and emotion-focused strategies). Women (n = 162) from a cross-sectional study of cancer symptoms who reported pain as a most noticed symptom in the past week were included. Pearson correlations and t tests were used to evaluate relationships among the variables. Mean pain severity was 5.5 (SD, 2.7) on a 0- to 10-point scale. An average of 4.6 (SD, 2.1) coping strategies were reported. Actively manage and planning were the most frequent problem-focused strategies; relaxation was the most frequent emotion-focused strategy. Higher total number of coping strategies attempted, expressing emotions, and seeking emotional support were associated with higher pain distress and consequences scores, and actively managing pain was associated with higher pain severity. Women with a history of ovarian cancer continue to experience severe pain. Partial support for parallel processing was found. The relative benefits of the 2 types of coping strategies are unclear. Thorough assessment of pain and the effectiveness of coping strategies is needed to help women identify strategies that work best for them.

Ovarian Neoplasms - psychology

Severity of Illness Index

Cross-Sectional Studies

Humans

Middle Aged

Ovarian Neoplasms - complications

Stress, Psychological - psychology

Pain - psychology

Pain - etiology

Adult

Female

Aged

Adaptation, Psychological

Details

Title: Subtitle: Coping With Pain Severity, Distress, and Consequences in Women With Ovarian Cancer
Creators: Stephanie Gilbertson-White - Author Affiliations: College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City (Dr Gilbertson-White); Department of Acute and Tertiary Care, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Dr Campbell); School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison (Dr Ward); and Departments of Acute and Tertiary Care (Dr Sherwood) and Health and Community Systems (Dr Donovan), School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Grace Campbell
Sandra Ward
Paula Sherwood
Heidi Donovan
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Cancer nursing, Vol.40(2), pp.117-123
DOI: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000000376
PMID: 27088608
PMCID: PMC5065731
NLM abbreviation: Cancer Nurs
ISSN: 0162-220X
eISSN: 1538-9804
Publisher: United States
Grant note: T32 NR011972 / NINR NIH HHS P30 CA086862 / NCI NIH HHS F31 NR007556 / NINR NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 03/2017
Academic Unit: Nursing; Internal Medicine
Record Identifier: 9984064149402771

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