PROFILING THE ‘PAIN-AWARE’ NURSE: ACUTE CARE NURSES’ ATTITUDES AND KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING ADULT PAIN MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Research about nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management shows both inadequate knowledge and inappropriate attitudes. The authors sought to explore this subject by surveying registered nurses (n=272) in a metropolitan teaching hospital about pain-related knowledge and attitudes/beliefs related to pain management.

Nurse knowledge was found to be of moderate standard only, with the best knowledge scores generated by the ‘nursing assessment and management’ section of the questionnaire. Associations between nurses’ characteristics, attitudes and knowledge were assessed statistically.

Univariate and multivariate statistical procedures yielded a model predicting the profile of a ‘knowledgeable nurse’ as of younger age, less experienced, working in critical care, confident in knowledge of pain, holding views which accept that improvement in patient pain relief is needed and holding beliefs which value non-pharmacological nursing interventions. Potential explanations for this finding are discussed in light of the literature.