• Janet Edrington, Angela Sun, Candice Wong, Marylin Dodd, Geraldine Padilla, Steven Paul, and Christine Miaskowski.
• School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, USA. janet.edrington@ucsf.edu
• Oncol Nurs Forum. 2010 Mar 1;37(2):172-81.

Purpose/ObjectivesTo describe the pain experience of Chinese American patients with cancer and to examine the relationships among pain characteristics, demographic characteristics, performance status, self-reported analgesic use, mood disturbances, and patients' acculturation levels.DesignDescriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study.SettingThree community-based oncology facilities in the San Francisco, CA, Bay area.Sample50 Chinese Americans who reported experiencing pain from cancer.MethodsParticipants completed in their preferred language a demographic questionnaire, the Karnofsky Performance Status Scale, the Brief Pain Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale, and information about analgesic use. Descriptive and correlational statistics were used to evaluate data.Main Research VariablesPain intensity, pain interference, performance status, anxiety, depression, analgesic use, and acculturation level.FindingsMost of the patients reported moderate to severe pain and moderate levels of interference. Lower levels of acculturation were associated with higher least and worst pain intensity scores and higher pain interference scores. Anxiety and depression scores were in the moderate range. Higher depression scores were associated with higher pain interference scores. Self-reported analgesic use for 62% of the patients was classified as inadequate.ConclusionsA significant percentage of Chinese American patients experience moderate to severe cancer pain that affects their mood and their ability to function.Implications For NursingNurses should assume a proactive role in assessing the physical, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of pain in Chinese American patients. Future research should evaluate the cancer pain experience of these vulnerable patients and develop and test culturally appropriate interventions.

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