Nurses\u27 Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Pain Study

Problem and Purpose: Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding pain have been identified as a barrier to pain management effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to determine the nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding pain in a community hospital where patient feedback indicated that pain management was an improvement opportunity. Sample: All registered nurses employed in the study site at the time of the survey were invited to participate. The sample was a convenience sample of a total of 51 nurses who completed the survey for a participation rate of 17%. Methods: The study design was descriptive. Ferrell and McCaffery’s Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) was deployed electronically through Survey Monkey ®. Nurses were invited to participate in the study through e-mail invitations, posted flyers, and verbally. Results: The study did not have sufficient statistical power to reliably examine the association between scores on the KASRP and demographic variables, therefore, descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results of the KASRP instrument. The mean score for the sample was 64.7% with a median score of 67.5%. The mean and median fell below the recommended score of 80%. Conclusions and Implications: The findings of this study indicate a need for further education in this sample of nurses in the areas of pain assessment and pain management. The ten lowest scoring questions emphasize the need for education in pharmacology and critical thinking. The KASRP is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to measure the success of the education