Cancer pain management. Improving knowledge and patient care

A pain management project was designed to assess the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention for improving GPs' knowledge of cancer pain management. Two hypotheses were tested: that the intervention would influence GPs' knowledge in the area of cancer pain management; that information would be gathered to assist in the production of educational material.

The project involved assessment of GP knowledge, feedback and discussion at project officer visits, mailings and participation in developing guidelines.

All participants who completed the second round of visits were glad they had participated in the program. A discussion of the information topics covered is included.

Increasing GPs' knowledge of the management of symptoms is only one of many factors that influence their prescribing patterns. In cancer pain management lack of knowledge is a significant contributor to unnecessary patient suffering. We have been able to demonstrate the success of a multifaceted intervention in improving the knowledge of cancer pain management by GPs. Although not measured directly, it is hoped that this will lead to improved quality of life for patients cared for by these practitioners.