Table 1.
Baseline variables
| Variable type | Variable | Range | n (%) | Mean (SD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic | Age, years (n=191) | 23–75 | 53.8 (11.2) | |
| Education (n=191) | Elementary | 3 (1.6) | ||
| High school | 62 (32.5) | |||
| College/trade school | 94 (49.2) | |||
| More than college | 32 (16.7) | |||
| Employment status (n=191) | Employed full-time outside the home | 40 (20.9) | ||
| Employed part-time outside the home | 11 (5.8) | |||
| Employed full-time in the home | 4 (2.1) | |||
| Employed part-time in the home | 4 (2.1) | |||
| Retired | 41 (21.5) | |||
| Unemployed | 24 (12.6) | |||
| Other | 67 (35.1) | |||
| Health literacy, (n=191) | 3–15 | 13.1 (2.6) | ||
| Income, US$ (n=191) | <10,000 | 26 (13.6) | ||
| 10,000–20,000 | 24 (12.6) | |||
| >20,000–30,000 | 18 (9.4) | |||
| >30,000–50,000 | 31 (16.2) | |||
| >50,000–70,000 | 34 (17.8) | |||
| >70,000–90,000 | 23 (12.0) | |||
| >90,000 | 35 (18.3) | |||
| Primary insurance (n=190) | Private | 99 (52.1) | ||
| Medicare | 37 (19.5) | |||
| Medicaid | 24 (12.6) | |||
| Multiple | 24 (12.6) | |||
| VA/other | 6 (3.2) | |||
| Marital status (n=191) | Married | 103 (53.9) | ||
| Separated | 14 (7.3) | |||
| Divorced | 28 (14.7) | |||
| Widowed | 8 (4.2) | |||
| Never married | 38 (19.9) | |||
| Race (n=191) | Black/African-American | 79 (41.4) | ||
| White | 112 (58.6) | |||
| Social support, (n=191) | 0.17–9.00 | 3.7 (2.1) | ||
| Social support satisfaction (n=191) | 1–6 (very dissatisfied–very satisfied) | 5.6 (0.8) | ||
| Illness | Cancer stage (n=191) | I | 20 (10.5) | |
| II | 28 (14.7) | |||
| III | 34 (17.8) | |||
| IV | 60 (31.4) | |||
| Unknown or unsure | 49 (25.7) | |||
| Time since cancer diagnosis, months (n=191) | 1–120 | 37.4 (35.8) | ||
| Charlson Comorbidity Index (n=191) | 0–13 | 4.3 (2.7) | ||
| General health (n=191) | Excellent | 9 (4.7) | ||
| Very good | 23 (12.0) | |||
| Good | 58 (30.4) | |||
| Fair | 68 (35.6) | |||
| Poor | 33 (17.3) | |||
| Physical health not good, days within last 30 (n=191) | 0–30 | 14.6 (10.7) | ||
| Mental health not good, days within last 30 (n=191) | 0–30 | 9.6 (10.8) | ||
| Past history of substance abuse (n=191) | No | 157 (82.2) | ||
| Yes | 34 (17.8) | |||
| Presence of chronic kidney disease (n=191) | No | 103 (53.9) | ||
| Yes | 88 (46.1) | |||
| Presence of depression (n=191) | No | 110 (57.6) | ||
| Yes | 81 (42.4) | |||
| Pain, function, and pain treatment | Duration of cancer pain, months (n=175) | 0–120 | 29.9 (31.0) | |
| Worst pain in last week (n=191) | 0–10 (no pain–pain as bad as you can imagine) | 6.8 (2.4) | ||
| Average pain in last week (n=191) | 0–10 (no pain–pain as bad as you can imagine) | 4.9 (2.0) | ||
| Least pain in last week (n=191) | 0–10 (no pain–pain as bad as you can imagine) | 3.3 (1.9) | ||
| Pain-related functional interference score (n=191) | 0–70 (does not interfere–completely interferes) | 34.6 (15.8) | ||
| Pain relief with medications (n=191) | 1–10 (10%–100%) | 7.3 (2.0) | ||
| Hours pain medications effective (n=191) | Does not help at all | 1 (0.5) | ||
| 1 | 6 (3.1) | |||
| 2 | 15 (7.9) | |||
| 3 | 27 (14.1) | |||
| 4 | 48 (25.1) | |||
| 5 | 82 (42.9) | |||
| >12 | 12 (6.3) | |||
| Pain Management Index (n=191) | −2 | 4 (2.1) | ||
| −1 | 12 (6.3) | |||
| 0 | 83 (43.5) | |||
| 1 | 61 (14.7) | |||
| 2 | 28 (14.7) | |||
| 3 | 3 (1.6) | |||
| Total number of analgesics prescribed (n=191) | 1 | 41 (21.5) | ||
| 2 | 103 (54.9) | |||
| 3 | 36 (18.9) | |||
| 4 | 11 (5.8) | |||
| Total number of coanalgesics prescribed (n=191) | 0 | 149 (78.0) | ||
| 1 | 35 (18.3) | |||
| 2 | 7 (3.7) | |||
| WHO analgesic step, index medication (n=191) | Step 1 | 18 (9.4) | ||
| Step 2 | 20 (10.5) | |||
| Step 3 | 153 (80.1) | |||
| Prescription of long-acting opioids (n=191) | No | 82 (42.9) | ||
| Yes | 109 (57.1) | |||
| How often prescribed medication taken per day (n=191) | Not every day | 2 (1.0) | ||
| 1–2 times | 71 (37.2) | |||
| 3–4 times | 81 (42.4) | |||
| 5–6 times | 29 (15.2) | |||
| >6 times | 8 (4.2) | |||
| Number of analgesic side effects, MSEC (n=191) | 0–8 | 3.9 (2.4) | ||
| Severity of side effects, MSEC (n=191) | 8–80 (not severe–extremely severe) | 25.5 (15.9) | ||
| Number of complementary alternative modalities used (n=191) | 0–8 | 2.1 (1.7) | ||
| Analgesic attitudes and barriers | CBC type of analgesic (n=191) | ≤25% | 155 (81.2) | |
| >25% and ≤50% | 17 (8.9) | |||
| >50% and ≤75% | 19 (9.9) | |||
| CBC pain relief with analgesics (n=191) | ≤25% | 83 (43.5) | ||
| >25% and ≤50% | 67 (35.1) | |||
| >50% and ≤75% | 41 (21.5) | |||
| CBC type of side effects (n=191) | ≤25% | 145 (75.9) | ||
| >25% and ≤50% | 43 (22.5) | |||
| >50% and ≤75% | 3 (1.6) | |||
| CBC severity of side effects (n=191) | ≤25% | 132 (69.1) | ||
| >25% and ≤50% | 41 (21.5) | |||
| >50% and ≤75% | 18 (9.4) | |||
| CBC out-of-pocket cost of analgesics (n=191) | ≤25% | 180 (94.2) | ||
| >25% and ≤50% | 10 (5.2) | |||
| >50% and ≤75% | 1 (0.5) | |||
| Analgesic barriers, BQ-II (n=191) | 0–96 | 66.2 (20.2) | ||
| BQ-II physiological effect severity (n=191) | 0–51 | 30.6 (11.1) | ||
| BQ-II fatalism severity (n=191) | 0–15 | 6.2 (3.5) | ||
| BQ-II communication severity (n=191) | 0–28 | 11.3 (5.2) | ||
| BQ-II harmful effects severity (n=191) | 0–30 | 18.1 (7.3) | ||
| Subjective adherence | I sometimes forget to take my pain medicine, MMAS (n=191) | No | 127 (66.5) | |
| Yes | 64 (33.5) | |||
| I am sometimes careless about taking my pain medicine (n=191) | No | 158 (82.7) | ||
| Yes | 33 (17.3) | |||
| When I feel better, I sometimes stop taking my pain medicine (n=191) | No | 104 (54.5) | ||
| Yes | 87 (45.5) | |||
| If I feel worse when I take the pain medicine, sometimes I stop taking it (n=191) | No | 165 (86.4) | ||
| Yes | 26 (13.6) |
Abbreviations: BQ, Barriers Questionnaire; CBC, choice-based conjoint analysis; MMAS, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale; MSEC, Medication Side-Effects Checklist; SD, standard deviation; VA, Veterans Administration; WHO, World Health Organization.