Pain management for the terminally ill: the role of race and religion.

Abstract

JIMA: Volume 43, 2011 Page 208 Pain management is a primary concern of both patients facing terminal illness and their loved ones. Pain itself is known to be both a universal and a very personal experience. Given the private nature of pain, the individual must express it in order to make it known. The expression of pain and its companion, suffering, are subjective and heavily influenced by one’s culture. The clinical and social manifestations of pain and suffering are varied as numerous anthropological studies have shown.1 Psychologist Lisa Stepp describes pain as follows: