Attitude and knowledge on cancer pain management and their influencing factors among oncology department nurses

Abstract

Objective To understand the attitude and knowledge on cancer pain management among oncology department nurses and to explore their influencing factors so as to provide a basis for developing targeted pain training projects. Methods From April to June 2018, we investigated 291 oncology department nurses from 21 provinces, 4 municipalities directly under the central government and 4 autonomous regions on the spot with the self-designed information questionnaire and the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) by convenience sampling. Results A total of 276 valid questionnaires were collected. Among 276 nurses, the accuracy rate of KASRP was (59.2±11.0) % ranged from 31.7% to 85.4%. There were statistical differences in the accuracy rates of KASRP among nurses with different areas, years working in cancer nursing, whether attended the pain training, whether participated in cancer pain management practice and monthly number of patients with cancer pain nursing provided by nurses (P<0.05) . Correlation analysis showed that the age of nurses had a positive correlation with the score of KASRP (r=0.237, P<0.001) . Multiple linear regression analysis proved that the influencing factors of attitude and knowledge on cancer pain management of nurses included the age of nurses, attending pain management practice, participating in the pain training (P<0.05) . Conclusions Among oncology department nurses in China, there are misunderstandings in attitudes on cancer pain management, and their related knowledge was insufficient which influenced by many factors. On the one hand, it points out the importance and urgency for clinical nurses to develop targeted pain management pain. On the other hand, we should provide innovative training methods and combine pain management practice tightly to effectively improve attitude and knowledge on cancer pain management among of nurses so as to make nurses play an important role well in cancer pain management. Key words: Neoplasms; Nurses; Pain; Knowledge; Attitude; Influencing factors