Knowledge and Attitudes of Chinese Oncology Nurses Regarding Cancer Pain Management-a Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

To measure the knowledge and attitudes of Chinese oncology nurses regarding cancer pain management and explore related factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. A convenience sample of 505 Chinese oncology nurses from 20 provinces, 4 municipalities, and 4 autonomous regions was recruited between April and October 2018. A Chinese version of the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) was used. Socio-demographic characteristics were also measured by a multi-item questionnaire. The mean accuracy of KASRP in all participants was 56.11% ± 11.05%. According to univariate analysis, oncology nurses' cancer pain knowledge and attitudes were positively correlated with age, region, education level, years of oncology nursing, clinical practice of cancer pain management, average monthly number of patients with cancer pain, and the experience of cancer pain-related training. The results of multiple linear regression revealed that nurses' age, education level, experience of cancer pain-related training and clinical practice of cancer pain management were independent influencing factors (all p < 0.05). Most Chinese oncology nurses had misconceptions about cancer pain management and lacked relevant knowledge. We should assign importance to targeted cancer pain training and develop training methods that closely relate to clinical practices.