Trauma pain management among nurses at the Emergency and Surgical Units in a Municipal Hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Introduction: Trauma pain is one of the most prevalent complaints among patients at emergency settings. Nurses have an indispensable role in the management of trauma pain, but literature has identified inadequate knowledge in pain management among nurses in many countries. This study was done to examine the practice of trauma pain management among nurses at the emergency and surgical units at the Bekwai Municipal Hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive quantitative cross-sectional study. The convenience sampling method was employed with a structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed with IBM SPSS Version 24. Independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to examine the association between demographic characteristics and mean score in knowledge and attitude. P-values which were less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 41 nurses participated in this study. The mean score for knowledge and attitude in traumatic pain management was 51.1%. There was an association between mean score in knowledge and attitude and educational level (p-value = 0.001) and also between mean score in knowledge and attitude and job rank (p-value = 0.001). Nurses with previous training in pain management had higher knowledge and attitude (15.5± 2.7) than those without previous training (14.2± 3.5) in pain management but the mean difference was not significant (p-value = 0.182). Conclusions: Nurses at the Emergency and Surgical Unit at the Bekwai Municipal Hospital had poor knowledge and attitude toward traumatic pain management.