Nursing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Pain: The Impact of an Educational Intervention

Pain is experienced differently by each patient and is often difficult to control. Within a critical access facility, nurses must be knowledgeable about managing pain in a variety of patients including those admitted for hospice care, surgical interventions, acute medical conditions or trauma, and those who experience chronic pain. The purposes of the project were to improve pain management for inpatient adults, improve the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of nurses regarding pain management, and positively impact Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores related to pain management. Positive changes in survey results related to nursing knowledge, attitudes, and practices indicate the project was successful in improving pain management of inpatient adults. Following completion of the education module, statistically significant improvement was seen in scores on the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (p = 0.001) and in nursing practices related to pain medication selection (p = 0.008) and choices related to pain medication when patient’s actions are not consistent with their reported pain level (p = 0.002). Outcomes related to nursing knowledge, attitudes, and practices were also clinically significant. However, there was limited HCAHPS data for 2018