Impact of Patient Resourcefulness on Cancer Patients’ Pain Management and Medical Opioid Use: A Cross-Sectional Study

To investigate the impact of resourcefulness and pain interpretation on cancer-related pain control. Cancer pain often leads to stress adaptation issues. Negative beliefs about cancer pain and morphine are detrimental to pain interpretation. Patients with high resourcefulness often proactively address problems to cope with stress, and establish problem-solving strategies. Quantitative survey. From November 2020 to November 2021, a survey was conducted at an oncology outpatient clinic and wards, with 100 completed questionnaires. The interaction between resourcefulness and opioid analgesics significantly influenced cancer pain sensation. John-Neyman values could identify patients with poor pain management, thus improving clinical practice Canonical Correlation Analysis revealed a correlation between resourcefulness and challenges. Four distinct groups of type of illness, gender, level of education were identified from two-step cluster analysis. Understanding patients' pain perceptions and enhancing their resourcefulness could enable patients to seek resources, take painkillers, and find positive interpretations of pain. Identifying patients with poor pain management could improve clinical practice. Loss and challenge in the meaning of cancer pain are essential factors in interpreting pain. The Canonical Correlation Analysis found that personal resourcefulness is correlated with challenges. Future patient educational strategies could help patients overcome challenges with cancer pain management and improve current pain educational materials. Hence, clinical health education may improve patients’ resourcefulness, enabling them to learn self-care skills, overcome the challenging feelings of pain management, and effectively manage cancer pain. •Patient resourcefulness and opioid type significantly affect cancer pain.•Strong opioids increase pain sensation in low-resourcefulness patients.•Weak opioids increase pain sensation in high-resourcefulness patients.•Personal resourcefulness correlates with viewing pain as a challenge.•Improving patient resourcefulness can enhance cancer pain management.