Table 2. Patients’ agreement with barrier statements, sorted in increasing order.

Statements	Mean ± SD
Pain medication should be ‘saved’ in case the pain gets worse	2.3±1.0
Complaints of pain could distract the doctor from treating my underlying illness	2.4±0.9
Good patients avoid talking about pain	2.5±0.8
It is easier to put up with pain than with the side effects that come with pain treatments	2.8±1.4
Pain medication cannot really control pain	3.3±1.1
The experience of pain is sign that the illness has gotten worse	3.5±1.5
People get addicted to pain medication very easily	3.8±1.2