Barriers for Nurses Providing Cancer Pain Management: A Qualitative Systematic Review.

This systematic review examines barriers faced by nurses in providing cancer pain management (CPM) by synthesizing qualitative data from 18 studies involving 277 nurses across 11 countries. The review identifies three main categories of barriers: healthcare professional–related (including limited nursing roles, inadequate knowledge and skills, poor pain assessment, communication and teamwork challenges, negative attitudes, and burnout), patient-related (such as sociocultural differences, financial constraints, fear of opioid addiction, and low adherence), and organizational-related (including insufficient resources, restrictive drug regulations, lack of specialized training, and heavy workloads). These barriers contribute to suboptimal pain control and negatively impact patients’ quality of life. The findings highlight the need for enhanced nurse education, interprofessional collaboration, improved communication, and organizational support to optimize CPM globally.