Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Nurses Regarding Pain Management

Abstract

Background: Pain is the primary symptom that brings patients to seek health care and is considered a global health problem. Thus, pain control is a fundamental goal in the management of the hospitalized patients. Despite the development of analgesics and advancement in pain management, the pain remains undermanaged. The untreated pain has a detrimental effect on the patient's quality of life, affects their outcomes, delays recovery, and increases the hospital stay. Nurses play a significant role in pain management as they spend a considerable portion of their time with the patients and deal with all their complaints, including pain. One of the significant obstacles to effective pain management among nurses is their limited knowledge and negative attitudes towards pain management. The primary purpose of this study was to explore nurses' knowledge, attitude, and practices toward pain management. Methods: An online survey was conducted for 224 nurses of various departments to assess their knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding pain management using a 30-item questionnaire in Google Forms. Results: Our survey shows a deficiency in knowledge related to the basics of pain, opioid use, and pain management in the elderly and pediatric age group. Conclusions: It may be prudent to consider training programs regarding opioid use and pain management as a part of continuous education and nursing undergraduate curricula.

Keywords

• attitude
• knowledge
• nursing
• pain management