TITLE:
Effectiveness of Education and Counselling Interventions on Cancer Patients’ Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
AUTHORS:
Shazia Zaheer, Erika Sivarajan Froelicher, Asghar Khan
KEYWORDS:
Cancer, Counselling, Education, Knowledge, Pain, Quality of Life, Self-Efficacy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.15 No.3,
March
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: Background: Pain is the most frequent and devastating symptom experienced by cancer patients. Education and counselling interventions can effectively manage cancer related pain. However, magnitude of their effectiveness needs to be examined critically. Purpose: This review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of education and counselling interventions on pain intensity, quality of life (QoL), self-efficacy and pain related knowledge of cancer patients. Methods: Databases of PubMed, CINAHL, SPRINGERLINK, and Cochrane CENTRAL were searched for studies published between January 2013 and December 2023. Cochrane Risk of Bias tool version 2 (RoB 2) was used to assess risk of bias in the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed to calculate the pooled effects of the interventions. Results: 14 RCTs involving 1,756 cancer patients with pain were included in this review. Seven studies provided the data for meta-analysis which favors the education and counselling interventions as compared to usual care on pain intensity with a large pooled effect size; the standardized mean difference was (SMD) −3.06 [95% CI −4.54, −1.58; p = 0.001], QoL SMD 2.25 [95% CI 1.89, 2.62; p = 0.001], self-efficacy SMD 0.82 [95% CI 0.30, 1.33; p = 0.002], and pain related knowledge SMD 0.81 [95% CI 0.27, 1.35; p = 0.003]. Conclusion: Education and counselling interventions are highly effective for improving pain intensity, QoL, self-efficacy and pain-related knowledge of cancer patients. These interventions could be integrated into clinical practice to facilitate cancer patients with pain.