Table 3.

Attitudes and experiences concerning pain, the prescription of opioids and consultation

	General practitioners	Elderly care physicians	Clinical specialists	p-value*	Total
	n = 182	n = 110	n = 112		n = 406†
	% agree	% agree	% agree		% agree
Pain
• In case of a change in pain symptomatology, I always take a comprehensive pain history	74	64	73	≥0.05	70
• In practice I find good pain control complex	60	56	65	≥0.05	60
• With the current medical possibilities, pain is always controllable	21	26	29	≥0.05	24
• When a patient is in pain, he/she will always indicate this	16	8	17	≥0.05	14
Prescribing opioids
• When prescribing opioids, I always prescribe a maintenance dosage plus a dosage to be used when needed (break-through medication)	90	68	84	≥0.05	80
• Nursing/care staff are reluctant to administer the opioids I prescribe	4	4	10	≥0.05	6
• I try to delay the prescription of opioids for as long as possible	4	9	7	≥0.05	6
Consultation
• Inadequate support from the pharmacist, hampers pain management	7	8	3	≥0.05	6
• Asking for consultation feels like personal defeat	2	2	4	≥0.05	2
	% yes	% yes	% yes		% yes
Laxative and anti-emetic
• As a general rule, I combine the prescription of an opioid with a laxative	94	69	76	<0.05	83
• As a general rule, I combine the prescription of an opioid with an anti-emetic	8	2	13	≥0.05	8

* chi-square test testing differences between the three groups of physicians

^† including 2 physicians who did not specify their specialty