INHIBITION IN EXPRESSING PAIN - A QUALITATIVE STUDY AMONG DUTCH SURGICAL BREAST-CANCER PATIENTS

In this qualitative study, 26 white Dutch women were interviewed who h ad recently undergone breast cancer surgery. The interviews indicated that during their hospital stay many of them had hardly expressed thei r postoperative pain and had rarely asked for pain medication. Patient s' conceptions of postoperative pain and analgesics, their insecurity and lack of assertiveness, and some suboptimal interactions with nurse s seem to have been associated with their inhibition in reporting pain .