Abstract
Pain is one of the most common reasons that drive people to go to hospitals. It has been found that several factors affect the practices of pain management. In this regard, this study aimed at investigating the underlying determinants in terms of pain management practices. Based on reviewing the previous studies and the suggestions of the KAP model, it was hypothesized that the main elements of the KAP model (attitudes and knowledge) significantly predict the variation in the practices of nurses regarding pain management. A questionnaire comprising the KAP model’ s constructs, i.e. knowledge and attitude towards pain management, as well as pain management practices, was used to collect data from 266 registered nurses (n=266) who are deemed competent in the management of patients’ pain in the Jordanian public hospitals. The two constructs, attitude and knowledge, which are the main determinants of the KAP model were found to independently predict nurses’ practices of managing patients’ pain. Knowledge of pain management was found to be the strongest predictor. Additionally, it was found that about 69% of the variance in pain management could be explained by the constructs of the KAP model. Therefore, it is recommended that the Jordanian hospitals and universities focus on nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards pain management in order to enhance their practices in the field of pain management.
Highlights
Pain is one of the most common symptoms experienced by patients (Clinical Standards Advisory Group [CSAG], 1999), and approximately 79 % of hospitalized patients suffer from it (Lui, So, & Fong, 2008)
It is recommended that the Jordanian hospitals and universities focus on nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards pain management in order to enhance their practices in the field of pain management
The findings of this study revealed that Attitude towards and Knowledge of pain management variables did not contribute significantly to pain management practices by the nurses (Hossain, 2010)
Summary
Pain is one of the most common symptoms experienced by patients (Clinical Standards Advisory Group [CSAG], 1999), and approximately 79 % of hospitalized patients suffer from it (Lui, So, & Fong, 2008). Pain management practices are defined as a set of activities that should be provided by nurses to manage the patients’ pain effectively (Hossain, 2010). These activities include assessing the patients’ pain (Kwekkeboom & Herr, 2001), providing appropriate nurse’s interventions to relieve the patients’ pain (Summer & Puntillo, 2001) and reassessing the patients’ pain after intervention (Cullen, Greiner, & Titler, 2001). Nurses are not the only healthcare providers who are responsible for relieving patients’ pain (McMillan, Tittle, Hagan, Laughlin, & Tabler, 2000), but they play a key role in managing patients’ pain (Lewthwaite et al, 2011). This is attributed to the fact that the nurses are in a central position between the responsible physicians and their patients (McCaffery & Pasero, 1999; Schafheutle, Cantrill, & Noyce, 2001)
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