A survey on the knowledge and attitude on pain management among nurses employed in the government hospitals

Abstract

Introduction: The literature has consistently shown common results on the knowledge and attitude of nurses toward pain; there is a dearth in exploring minute details like the demographics that serve as the key to address the problem which this study aims at. Aims: This study aims to determine the knowledge and attitude of the staff nurses and whether a difference exists when their demographic profiles are considered. Methods: This study employed quantitative-comparative design. The researchers employed a self-report questionnaire to gather the data from the 262 staff nurses working at three big hospitals located in Hail City. The researchers used the simple random sampling method to obtain the number of participants needed. Mann–Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to test a comparison between the level of knowledge on pain assessment of the respondents across their profile. Meanwhile, Kendall Tau was used to determine the difference between the levels of knowledge on pain assessment of the respondents as to their age, years of experience, and number of trainings. Results: The mean knowledge and attitude of nurses is 20.39. When the demographic profile was compared to the level of knowledge, only area/unit of assignment (0.01) and number of training (0.01) showed significant results. The number of training (0.01) yielded positive relationship concerning the difference between the level of knowledge and attitude of nurses. Conclusion: Staff nurses have a low level of knowledge and attitude regarding pain management. The area/unit of assignment has shown to influence the knowledge and attitude, while the number of trainings has a positive effect on the knowledge and attitude.