Background/Objectives: Pain resilience (PR) may be associated with different coping skills, resulting in differences in pain outcomes. This study aimed to understand the role of PR in dictating the choice of coping methods. Methods: This study completed a preliminary validation of the Mandarin Chinese version of the Pain Resilience Scale (PRS-C) with online survey data (n = 46). Further, we conducted interviews with individuals with chronic low back pain (n = 24). Results: The PRS-C psychometric properties were assessed using a confirmatory factor analysis. The interviews explored pain history, treatment experiences, and coping strategies and were analyzed thematically. The validated PRS-C (10 items) demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties. The interview results showed that participants who scored lower were more likely to adopt disengagement rather than engagement coping strategies. Qualitative data revealed three themes explaining why and how participants in this collectivist social framework chose their coping methods. Conclusions: The findings suggest that while participants tried to understand their pain and treatment experiences, the cognitive appraisal construct in PR influenced some of the coping experiences. However, deeply influenced by Confucianism and Buddhism, participants also expressed factors beyond the scope of individual fortitudes, such as the relationship with a higher power that significantly influenced their coping behaviors.

Background and Objectives: Local anesthetics administered via epidural catheters have evolved from intermittent top-ups to simultaneous administration of continuous epidural infusion (CEI) and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) using the same device. The latest programmed intermittent epidural bolus (PIEB) model is believed to create a wider and more even distribution of analgesia inside the epidural space. The switch from CEI + PCEA to PIEB + PCEA in our department began in 2018; however, we received conflicting feedback regarding workload from the quality assurance team. This study aimed to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of this conversion, including the differences in acute pain service (APS) staff workload, maternal satisfaction, side effects, and complications before and after the changeover. Materials and Methods: Items from the APS records included total delivery time, average local anesthetic dosage, and the formerly mentioned items. The incidence of side effects, the association between the duration of delivery and total dosage, and hourly medication usage in the time subgroups of the CEI and PIEB groups were compared. The staff workload incurred from rescue bolus injection, catheter adjustment, and dosage adjustment was also analyzed. Results: The final analysis included 214 and 272 cases of CEI + PCEA and PIEB + PCEA for labor analgesia, respectively. The total amount of medication and average hourly dosage were significantly lower in the PIEB + PCEA group. The incidences of dosage change, manual bolus, extra visits per patient, and lidocaine use for rescue bolus were greater in the PIEB + PCEA group, indicating an increased staff workload. However, the two groups did not differ in CS rates, labor time, maternal satisfaction, and side effects. Conclusions: This study revealed that while PIEB + PCEA maintained the advantage of decreasing total drug doses, it inadvertently increased the staff burden. Increased workload might be a consideration in clinical settings when choosing between different methods of PCEA.

Objectives: Resilience to pain is a protective factor against aversive pain outcomes, such as suicide. Religiosity as a cornerstone of resilience has been found to be associated with reduced risk of suicidality in chronic pain. However, affiliations to different religions have displayed differences in suicide risk. This study focuses on the roles of pain resilience and Dao religion in mitigating suicidal experience in individuals with chronic pain. Methods: This study adopted a mixed‐method approach. A preliminary investigation was conducted regarding the internal consistency and construct validity of the translated version of the pain resilience scale (PRS). Qualitative data were collected through interviews with individuals experiencing chronic pain. Levels of PRS and gender were included in the logistic regression on the probability of suicide attempts. The role of Dao practice was qualitatively analyzed through narrative analysis. Results: Among the 24 participants, 14 were affiliated with the Dao religion; therefore, the transcripts of these 14 interviews were analyzed. Individuals with moderate scores on the PRS were 11.60 times less likely to have attempted suicide than those with low PRS scores. The likelihood further decreased by 38.7 times in those with high PRS scores. Four themes emerged from the qualitative interviews. The participants experienced a burden from pain, made efforts to please the deities in exchange for better pain control, continuously adjusted to pain, and ultimately developed a new perspective on the relationship between their religion and pain. Many individuals have engaged in Dao rituals to try to alleviate their physical and psychological pain. Most participants tended to offer a religious interpretation of enlightening moments after surviving a suicide attempt. Discussion: This study illustrates how pain resilience and Dao religious practices mitigate suicidality in chronic pain. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05148364.

Background and Objectives: Attentional bias (AB) for addictive substances is a feature of attention found in individuals with substance misuse or diagnosed with substance use disorders. When AB exists, the attention of the addicted individual may be quickly oriented to cues related to the addictive substance or be maintained on these cues for a longer time. AB toward opioids was found in Western samples of smokers with chronic noncancer pain. The level of AB was dose-responsive. However, similar studies in the Taiwanese population are lacking. This study compared the patterns of AB for opioid analgesics in Taiwanese participants with chronic noncancer pain to that of individuals without pain. This study aimed to investigate if AB toward opioids is presented in Taiwanese heavy smokers who are on long-term opioid therapy for pain control. Materials and Methods: Participants were grouped into chronic noncancer pain smokers, chronic pain nonsmokers, and smokers without pain, according to smoking habits and whether or not on long-term opioid therapy for pain control. Each participant completed demographic questionnaires, mood scales, and the opioid-related visual probe task. Differences in AB among the groups were compared using a three-way analysis of covariance controlling for daily cigarette consumption. Results: Chronic noncancer pain smokers (n = 17) and chronic pain nonsmokers (n = 16) displayed more severe levels of depression, anxiety, and pain, compared to smokers without pain (n = 28). Only did chronic pain nonsmokers show significant AB for opioid cues that were displayed for a short time. Analysis on reaction time found that smokers without pain consistently responded faster to the tasks. No difference in reaction time was found between the pain groups. Conclusions: The current study did not fully replicate findings from studies that were based in Western countries. Formulary availability and regulatory limitations might have affected patient’s perception of prescription opioids in Taiwan. However, chronic pain nonsmokers exhibited initial orientation toward opioid-related cues when daily cigarette consumption was accounted for. According to previous research, this AB for shortly displayed opioid cues can be associated with the expectation of pain relief. The current finding also indicated general psychomotor retardation in individuals who were on long-term use of opioids.