# Developing and Implementing a Culturally Appropriate Non-Opioid Pain Coping Skills Training Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Hispanic/Latinx Patients with Cancer Pain

> **NIH NIH UG1** · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2021 · $581,183

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Though cancer remains a leading cause of death among Hispanic/Latinx populations in the United States
and Hispanic/Latinx patients routinely experience disparities in cancer-related care, the overwhelming majority
of behavioral and psychosocial oncology research continues to focus on non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Compared
to NHW, individuals who identify as Hispanic and Latinx are more likely to: 1) be diagnosed with advanced stage
disease, 2) experience poor quality of life, and 3) experience inadequate cancer-related care such as pain
management. Hispanic/Latinx patients also endure greater levels of pain compared to other racial and ethnic
groups, and are more likely to express concerns about cancer pain management due to inadequate analgesia,
less pain relief, and poor patient-provider communication. Across all of pain management, Hispanic/Latinx
populations have lower access to chronic pain treatments compared to others (particularly if they are primarily
Spanish speaking), and inadequate access to suitable pain treatments, which may contribute to medication
misuse, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life. In addition to socially determined disparities, language
barriers are a key challenge limiting compliance with pharmacologic treatments and access to essential pain
management services. The overwhelming lack of services available in Spanish, compounded by cultural
discordance within available services, serves as an additional barrier to engagement with Hispanic/Latinx
communities. Additionally, there is a need for internet-based cancer care services provided in Spanish and
formatted for use via mobile devices, which must integrate unique features of culture into care programs.
 Our team has developed and validated a web-based pain coping skills training (PCST) intervention
(painTRAINER), available via Internet-enabled devices and smart phones, that retains critical features of
empirically validated and effective in-person PCST interventions. PainTRAINER is a maximally accessible,
interactive and personalized intervention that does not require clinic visits or therapist involvement.
PainTRAINER’s effectiveness for pain management is well-established via NIH-funded trials, but is only available
in the English language which leaves a gap in the ability to extend care to Spanish-speaking patients with limited
English proficiency. In collaboration with Hispanic and Latinx community organizations, community advisory
boards, patient advocates, and bilingual health experts, we will follow a stepwise community-engaged and
culturally-informed adaptation and translation of the painTRAINER program including: develop a community
advisory board (CAB) and a community-based programmatic review panel (PRP); perform an initial intervention
translation process; critically evaluate core functions and theoretical constructs of painTRAINER; engage the
CAB and PRP to evaluate and further critique all translations; develop painTRAINER-Spanish to...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10400340
- **Project number:** 3UG1CA189824-08S2
- **Recipient organization:** WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** GLENN J LESSER
- **Activity code:** UG1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $581,183
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2014-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10400340

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10400340, Developing and Implementing a Culturally Appropriate Non-Opioid Pain Coping Skills Training Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Hispanic/Latinx Patients with Cancer Pain (3UG1CA189824-08S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10400340. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*