Pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitudes survey regarding pain: a competency tool modification

Nurses' knowledge and attitudes about pain affect their ability to manage patients' pain. A mechanism was sought to evaluate nursing competency in pain management at eight pediatric hospitals. Several pain survey tools were reviewed, considering the patient population around which they were designed, the basis for survey content, and format. A survey with established validity and reliability, the Pediatric Nurses' Knowledge and Attitude Survey Regarding Pain (PNKAS) (Manworren 1999) was chosen as the most appropriate for this group. The tool was modified for applicability to the nurses caring for pediatric populations that do not include oncology. Revisions were made with the concurrence of Manworren to assure that neither the content being tested, nor the integrity of the tool, was affected. Stability of the modified tool (PNKAS-Shriners Version 2002) was verified by retesting 6-8 weeks after initial survey.     

Assessment of nurses' attitudes and knowledge regarding pain management

BACKGROUND: RNs in North Carolina were surveyed to determine their current knowledge and to determine if educational preparation, practice setting, or clinical specialty influenced their knowledge levels and attitudes. METHOD: A stratified random sample of 1,000 practicing RNs in North Carolina were surveyed using the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Instrument developed by McCaffery and Ferrell. RESULTS: The mean score was 64.58 based on the percentage of correct responses from the 260 subjects who participated. No statistically significant difference was found in scores based on educational preparation, practice setting, or clinical specialty. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study support the concern of inadequate knowledge and inappropriate attitudes regarding pain management. It reveals the need for intensive continuing education and staff development.     

Testing an instrument measuring Greek nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding pain

This pretest-post-test study was conducted to test the construct validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency of the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain with Greek nurses. Forty-six registered nurses were randomly assigned to an expert or nonexpert group. The expert group viewed 4 translated educational videotapes about pain management. The nonexpert group received no pain education. All of the nurses completed a pretest and a post-test using a Greek translation of the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain, with a time delay of 8 to 12 days between testing. The expert nurses learned significantly more than the nonexpert nurses from pretest to post-test, M = 9.0 and M = 1.5 items, respectively. Expert and nonexpert nurses correctly answered 51.5% and 43.3% of the pretest and 74.6% and 47.2% of the post-test questions, respectively. Test-retest reliability for the 28 nonexpert nurses was r = 0.68, P < .001. Cronbach's alpha for the entire sample was 0.88 (n = 30) at the post-test. These results contribute to the validity and reliability of the Greek version of the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain and provide the basis for phase II of the study, which will use the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain to examine the state of pain management in an anticancer facility in Greece.     

临床护士疼痛管理知识与态度的调查研究

目的了解护士疼痛管理知识与态度现状。方法采用护理人员疼痛管理知识与态度问卷(Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain,KASRP)和自设一般情况问卷对福建省11所三级甲等医院440名临床护士进行调查研究。结果护士KASRP问卷其总体正确率为48.35%,疼痛评估维度正确率最高,为58.58%,疼痛干预维度正确率最低,仅为26.55%;能通过阅读学术期刊获得疼痛知识的临床护士KASRP得分高于其他护士(P<0.05);工作后接受过疼痛继续教育的临床护士KASRP得分高于未接受继续教育的护士(P<0.05)。结论临床护士疼痛知识和态度水平较低,通过自主学习和继续教育,能有效提升护士的疼痛管理能力,提高疼痛护理整体水平。     

An examination of critical care nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management in hospitalized patients.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention focused on pain management. The sample consisted of 30 medical/surgical intensive care nurses (age range, 23 to 62 years) employed in a large metropolitan hospital in the southeastern United States. McCaffery and Ferrell's Nurses' Knowledge and Attitude Survey Regarding Pain was administered at 2 points in time: before and after the educational program. The survey simultaneously measures knowledge and attitude levels regarding pain control. The paired t test was used to test for differences between pre- and posttest scores. The Point-biserial and Spearman's correlation coefficients were computed to examine relationships between selected sociodemographic variables and scores (baseline and change) on the survey. Results revealed a significant increase in scores after the educational intervention (t = 9.60. p = .0005). Additionally, a statistically significant correlation was found between change scores (posttest minus pretest scores) and years of nursing experience (rs = .37, p = .047). However, no significant relationships were found between type of nursing degree and baseline or change scores (rpb = .11, p = .575; rpb = .01, p = .955). These results support previous research findings related to the problem of inadequate pain management in the hospital setting. Further, the findings indicate that education regarding pain control is crucial for current nursing students as well as practicing nurses. The challenge for nurses is to be responsive to and integrate current pain management techniques in an effort to decrease the discomfort of hospitalized patients.     

Rehabilitation hospital staff knowledge and attitudes regarding pain

No published studies exist that document pain-related knowledge, attitudes, or educational needs of clinical staff in a rehabilitation hospital; the purpose of this study was to obtain such information to aid in the development of an institutional pain care improvement project. A survey regarding knowledge and attitudes about pain and perceived areas of educational need was administered to all staff with inpatient care responsibilities. Results show that rehabilitation hospital staff hold generally progressive attitudes toward the treatment of pain but with a substantial degree of ambivalence about the use of opioids in the treatment of pain. Staff rate their own lack of education about pain management as one of the chief barriers to effective pain management, and a large percentage report feeling uncomfortable with various technical aspects of pain care. We discuss the implications of this survey for understanding and improving pain care in rehabilitation settings.     

Students' and faculty members' knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management: a descriptive survey

Many basic nursing programs spend little time educating students about pain management. Between the years of 2000 and 2002, a baccalaureate nursing program at a university in central Virginia surveyed sophomore, junior, and senior nursing students using McCaffery's Pain Knowledge and Attitude Survey at the beginning and end of each academic semester. During the same time period, faculty also completed the survey and answered open-ended questions pertaining to the inclusion of pain management in course content. The purposes of this study were to determine the baseline knowledge and attitudes of nursing students and faculty about the science of pain management and to evaluate the content of pain management material and the extent to which it is integrated into the curriculum.     

A survey examining nurses' knowledge of pain control.

Three hundred and eighteen (318) nursing staff members at an acute care teaching hospital in Montreal, Canada, were surveyed to identify their knowledge of pain assessment and management. Two pain instruments were combined and adapted for use. The final instrument consisted primarily of true/false responses and took about 10 min to complete. The mean score was 63.9%. Overall results indicated that nurses lacked knowledge and understanding of opioid addiction, equivalent dosing, properties of opioids, and differences in acute and chronic pain. No statistically significant differences were found in the scores by level of educational preparation or by years of experience. Presentation of the results unit by unit demonstrated that the instrument is suitable as an educational tool as well as an effective strategy to introduce nursing staff to nursing research.     

The effect of postoperative pain management program on improving nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward pain

Effective postoperative pain treatment is an essential component to good quality of care. The purpose of this study was to explore nurses' knowledge of and attitudes toward pain in surgical wards before and after implementation of a postoperative management program at a university hospital in Jordan. The program consisted of an education program for nurses, and its effect was evaluated by using a pre- and post-intervention design. Sixty five registered nurses were asked to respond to a 21 items questionnaire, and a total of 240 patients' records were audited. After implementation of the program, the mean scores for all the questionnaire items were found to increase to 75%, with an average of 16/21 for the correct answers. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the number of correct answers between nurses' responses in the pre-intervention phase and their responses in the post-intervention phase for most of the questionnaire items. Also, there was a statistically significant improvement in the documentation of patients' care in 85% of the audited patients' records. It was recommended to introduce an acute pain services (APS) using a well established and safe pain management routines to increase the quality of care.     

Pain management competency evidenced by a survey of pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitudes

Nurses' knowledge and attitudes about pain management affect their capability to attend to children in pain. A modified version of the Pediatric Nurses' Knowledge and Attitude Survey (PNKAS--Manworren and Shriners Hospitals for Children Version, 2002) was used to evaluate nursing competency to manage pain at eight pediatric hospitals. A convenience sample of 295 nurses attained a mean individual test score of 74% correct. Scores were correlated with demographic data. The novice group with 0-2 years nursing experience had significantly (p<0.05) lower scores (fewer correct answers) than the other five groups with more than 2 years of nursing experience. The nurses who participated in professional nursing organizations or nursing committees had significantly higher scores than those who did not participate. Nursing education, professional activity, and years of clinical experience contribute to the knowledge necessary for competency in pain management, as evidenced by higher scores using this survey tool.     

Effects of a pain education program on nurses' pain knowledge, attitudes and pain assessment practices in China

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of a Pain Education Program (PEP) for nurses in China. The effects of PEP were measured in a quasi-experimental design. A total of 196 nurses who met the inclusion criteria from five nursing units in two teaching hospitals participated in the study. Randomization took place at the hospital level to select experimental and control groups. The research intervention was the PEP, which had two components: (1) to educate nurses about pain management and (2) to implement daily pain assessment by using the Changhai Pain Scale. The duration of PEP was five weeks and intervention methods included focused education, group activity, and individual instruction. After the baseline data were collected, PEP was implemented in the experimental group. The control group (n = 90) received no intervention, and the experimental group (n = 106) received six hours of focused education training. During the fourth and fifth weeks of the training program, the researcher and the faculty instructed nurses in five nursing units on how to use the Changhai Pain Scale to assess patients’ pain levels and demonstrated how to document pain condition in the nursing records. Nurses in both groups filled out a set of questionnaires, which included a background information form and the Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitude Survey form, before the PEP (T1), at one month after the PEP (T2), and at three months after the PEP (T3). Nurses in the experimental group who received the PEP had a significant improvement in their pain knowledge and attitudes. Their scores on the Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitude Survey increased from 15.67 at T1 to 26.13 at T2 and 35.14 at T3. The scores of nurses in the control group were unchanged (from 15.20 at T1 to 14.29 at T2 and 14.93 at T3, P > 0.05). In addition, experimental group nurses had an improvement in pain assessment. The percentage of nurses who correctly used the Changhai Pain Scale to assess patients’ pain intensity increased significantly after the PEP, and the increased usage of the assessment tool between experimental and control groups also shows a statistical difference in trend (χ²=93.281, P < 0.001). The PEP has been demonstrated to be effective in improving nurses’ pain knowledge, attitudes, and assessment.     

Nurses' knowledge,attitudes and beliefs regarding substance use: a questionnaire survey

Abstract A questionnaire on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practises regarding substance use was distributed to 302 nurses in Victoria. One hundred and thirty-four returned the questionnaire, giving an overall response rate of 44.3%. The survey results showed that although knowledge and skill gaps exist in assessment and management of alcohol and drug problems, overall knowledge levels were adequate. Although positive attitudes towards substance use were expressed, specific educational programs to enhance nurses' skills in assessment and management of substance-related disorders may be beneficial.     

A survey of Chinese nurses' current knowledge of pain in older people

Aim. To investigate the current level of Chinese nurses’ knowledge of pain and pain management in older people. Background. Most research about nurses’ knowledge regarding pain has taken place in developed countries; however, limited research in this area has taken place in developing countries and particularly in China. Methods. Registered Nurses (n = 621) in three different hospitals were surveyed with the questionnaire about pain and pain management with respect to older people. Results. The finding showed that a significant knowledge deficit in this area exists. There were no significant differences among nurses in terms of education background, position and whether or not there was attendance in an educational session on pain management. However, there were statistically significant differences based on age; hospital of employment and clinical area in which employed. Conclusion. This survey suggested that nurses’ knowledge of pain in older people should be improved. Basic and continuing education of nurses in this area should be enhanced and their active participation in pain management should be encouraged. Relevance to clinical practice. The findings in this survey highlight a significant pain management knowledge deficit among the nurses in the clinical practice. The findings may help the nurses realize their knowledge deficit in this area and may also suggest curriculum changes for the nurses to improve pain management knowledge.