AUTHOR=Alodhayani Abdulaziz , Almutairi Khalid M. , Vinluan Jason M. , Alsadhan Norah , Almigbal Turky H. , Alonazi Wadi B. , Batais Mohammed Ali 

TITLE=Gender Difference in Pain Management Among Adult Cancer Patients in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Assessment

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.628223

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.628223

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>To compare gender differences in pain management among adult cancer patients in Saudi Arabia and to explore the predictors associated with attitudinal barriers of cancer patients to pain management.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 325 cancer patients from tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia.</p></sec><sec><title>Result</title><p>Of the total participants, 67.4% were women (<italic>N</italic> = 219) and 32.6% were men (<italic>N</italic> = 106). The overall mean scores of the attitudinal barriers questionnaire were 49.51 ± 13.73 in men and 54.80 ± 22.53 in women. The analysis shows significant differences in scores in subscales of tolerance (men = 7.48 ± 2.37), (women = 8.41 ± 3.01) (<italic>p</italic> = 0.003) and fear of distraction in the course of treatment (men = 6.55 ± 1.34), and (women = 7.15 ± 2.63) (<italic>p</italic> = 0.008). Female patients reported a more moderate to severe level of pain than men (worst pain in last week of 7.07 ± 1.50, worst pain in last week of 5.84 ± 2.65, respectively). Splitting by gender, the significant predictor for physiology effect domains in male cancer patients includes age, marital status, employment status, monthly income, cancer type, and presence of comorbid disease (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.050). Age was a significant predictor of the domains of fatalism, communication, and harmful effects (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.050) among female cancer patients.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The present study revealed significant differences between men and women with attitudinal barriers to cancer pain management. Managing pain requires the involvement of all methods in a comprehensive manner, thus unalleviated pain influences the patient’s psychological or cognitive aspect.</p></sec>