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BACKGROUND	Despite the increasing complexity of medication regimens for persistent cancer pain , little is known about how oncology outpatients and their family caregivers manage pain medications at home .
OBJECTIVE	To describe the day-to-day management of pain medications from the perspectives of oncology outpatients and their family caregivers who participated in a randomized clinical trial of a psychoeducational intervention called the Pro-Self ( ) Plus Pain Control Program .
OBJECTIVE	In this article , we focus on pain medication management in the context of highly individualized home environments and lifestyles .
METHODS	This qualitative study was conducted as part of a randomized clinical trial , in which an embedded mixed methods research design was used .
METHODS	Audio-recorded dialogue among patients , family caregivers , and intervention nurses was analyzed using qualitative research methods .
RESULTS	Home and lifestyle contexts for managing pain medications included highly individualized home environments , work and recreational activities , personal routines , and family characteristics .
RESULTS	Pain medication management processes particularly relevant in these contexts included understanding , organizing , storing , scheduling , remembering , and taking the medications .
RESULTS	With the exception of their interactions with the intervention nurses , most study participants had little involvement with clinicians as they worked through these processes .
CONCLUSIONS	Pain medication management is an ongoing multidimensional process , each step of which has to be mastered by patients and their family caregivers when cancer treatment and supportive care are provided on an outpatient basis .
CONCLUSIONS	Realistic patient - and family-centered skill-building interventions are needed to achieve effective and safe pain medication management in the contexts of individual home environments and lifestyles .

