| General practitioners | Elderly care physicians | Clinical specialists | p-value* | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | n = 182 | n = 110 | n = 112 |  | n = 406†|
 | % agree | % agree | % agree |  | % agree |
Pain | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• In case of a change in pain symptomatology, I always take a comprehensive pain history | 74 | 64 | 73 | ≥0.05 | 70 |
• In practice I find good pain control complex | 60 | 56 | 65 | ≥0.05 | 60 |
• With the current medical possibilities, pain is always controllable | 21 | 26 | 29 | ≥0.05 | 24 |
• When a patient is in pain, he/she will always indicate this | 16 | 8 | 17 | ≥0.05 | 14 |
Prescribing opioids | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• When prescribing opioids, I always prescribe a maintenance dosage plus a dosage to be used when needed (break-through medication) | 90 | 68 | 84 | ≥0.05 | 80 |
• Nursing/care staff are reluctant to administer the opioids I prescribe | 4 | 4 | 10 | ≥0.05 | 6 |
• I try to delay the prescription of opioids for as long as possible | 4 | 9 | 7 | ≥0.05 | 6 |
Consultation | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• Inadequate support from the pharmacist, hampers pain management | 7 | 8 | 3 | ≥0.05 | 6 |
• Asking for consultation feels like personal defeat | 2 | 2 | 4 | ≥0.05 | 2 |
 | % yes | % yes | % yes |  | % yes |
Laxative and anti-emetic | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
• As a general rule, I combine the prescription of an opioid with a laxative | 94 | 69 | 76 | <0.05 | 83 |
• As a general rule, I combine the prescription of an opioid with an anti-emetic | 8 | 2 | 13 | ≥0.05 | 8 |