Misconceptions of Opioids in Palliative and End of Life Care

Abstract

Opioids are the most used medication in palliative or end-of-life care to manage patients’ pain levels in different settings where these services are offered. Opioids are considered versatile pain medication because they are used for varying degrees of pain levels and are administered through different routes. Over the years, observations have been made regarding the many misconceptions held by patients and nurses about the use of opioids. These misconceptions led to poor pain management of patients since opioids were not administered as frequently or in the right doses as they should have been to alleviate patients’ pain levels. For nurses especially, this element was detrimental as these misconceptions regarding opioid use allowed these views to be spread to patients which allowed most to oversee administering opioids as they saw fit. The research aimed to describe the different misconceptions that patients and nurses had about opioid use in palliative or end-of-life care. The purpose of the research was to provide valid guidelines that dissipated misconceptions held by nurses and patients about opioid use in palliative or end-of-life care, so that poor pain management would be decreased. The method used was a literature review which used eight guidelines that came from PubMed, CINHAL, and Medline. Chosen data underwent content analysis and provided information from guidelines that could dispel any misconceptions about opioid use. The main misconceptions held by nurses about opioid use in palliative or end-of-life care were addiction, side effects, legal ramifications, and euthanasia. When it came to the misconceptions about opioid use in palliative care or end-of-life care held by patients included side effects, fear that the opioids would mask their symptoms, and religious barriers. The findings provided vital information about how different side effects can be easily managed through non-pharmacological and pharmacological methods and how giving different opioids through different routes decreased side effects in many patients. This provided necessary information about how opioids do not cause euthanasia if they are given in correct doses and at the right times. The difference between sedation as a side effect and intentional palliative sedation was clearly emphasized, which showed that opioids do not play as great a role in palliative sedation as many individuals thought. The research recognized the limitations of this study and purposed that future research should focus more on opioid use specifically for patients in palliative or end-of-life care.