Cancer Patients Participating in Family Meetings Based on Pain Management: A Qualitative Study

Cancer-related pain is one of the most common and challenging symptoms affecting cancer patients, impacting their physical and mental health. The involvement of families in the management of cancer patients' symptoms has gradually become a trend.

The purpose of this study is to collect the real experiences of patients participating in family meetings focused on pain management from the patients' perspective.

A descriptive qualitative design was adopted, using phenomenological methods. Ten patients were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to clarify their real experiences of participating in family meetings focused on pain.

The real experiences were divided into four major themes: obstacles in pain management, the effectiveness of family meetings in pain management, changes in participation in family meetings, and views on participating in family meetings. Specifically, family meetings can enable cancer patients to move from isolation to sharing, improving their self-management efficacy of pain.

Family meeting intervention is a positive experience. Family meetings enhance the knowledge and skills of patients and family members in pain management, increase their participation in pain care, and improve their emotional communication. When implementing pain management and family meeting intervention measures, the influence of different cultures should be considered.