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The relationship between hope and pain in a sample of hospitalized oncology patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2008

Inger Utne*
Affiliation:
Oslo University College, Faculty of Nursing, Oslo, Norway Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California
Christine Miaskowski
Affiliation:
Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California Rikshospitalet - Radiumhospitalet Medical Centre, Oslo, Norway
Kristin Bjordal
Affiliation:
Department of Radiation Oncology, Rikshospitalet - Radiumhospitalet Medical Center, Oslo, Norway
Steven M. Paul
Affiliation:
Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California
Gunnhild Jakobsen
Affiliation:
Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Tone Rustøen
Affiliation:
Oslo University College, Faculty of Nursing, Oslo, Norway Rikshospitalet - Radiumhospitalet Medical Centre, Oslo, Norway
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Inger Utne, Faculty of Nursing, Oslo University College, Postbox 4, St. Olavs Plass, 0131 Oslo, Norway. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Objective:

The aims of this study were to describe hope in a sample of hospitalized oncology patients in pain and to determine if various demographic, clinical, and pain characteristics were related to hope. In addition, the individual item and total Herth Hope Index (HHI) scores for these oncology inpatients with pain were compared with those from the general Norwegian population.

Method:

Oncology inpatients in pain (n = 225) were recruited from the Norwegian Radium Hospital. The research instruments included the HHI, the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlations, and one-sample t tests.

Results:

Total HHI scores in oncology inpatients with pain were comparable to a similar sample in Taiwan. The Norwegian oncology inpatients reported significantly higher total HHI scores than the general Norwegian population. The largest difference was on the item “I feel scared about my future.” No relationships were found between total HHI scores and any of the pain intensity scores. Significant relationships were found between total HHI scores and the more psychosocial interference items on BPI and sleep.

Significance of results:

The higher levels of hope in the oncology inpatients with pain compared with the general Norwegian population may reflect a “response shift” in the patients' evaluation of hope. Although the difference is relatively small, it may represent a clinically meaningful difference. The fact that significant relationships were found between HHI scores and the more psychosocial interference scores on BPI suggest that hope may be more related to psychosocial effects on pain than on its physical effects.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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