Cancer pain self-management interventions in adults: scoping review

The predominant trend in cancer treatment now leans towards outpatient care, placing the responsibility of pain management largely on the patients themselves. Moreover, a significant portion of treatment for advanced cancer occurs in the home environment, so patient self-management becomes increasingly crucial for the effective treatment of cancer pain.

To map self-management for pain in patients with cancer at all phases of the disease before examining the potential of pain self-care interventions for ill patients with cancer.

A search was conducted on six electronic databases to locate studies published in English, from 2013 to 2023. We followed Arskey and O'Malley's Scoping Reviews guidelines.

This study thoroughly examined the provision of cancer pain self-management by healthcare professionals and identified four intervention types from 23 studies. Education emerged as the most prevalent form of self-management for cancer pain.

Guiding patients in managing their pain effectively, starting from their hospitalisation and extending to their discharge.