Determinants of nurses' knowledge gap on pain management in Ghana

Aziato, Lydia; Adejumo, Oluyinka

doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2013.08.004

Cited by 35 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…is finding is similar to those reported by recent studies as a major obstacle for optimal pediatric pain management [21][22][23]. Some of the reasons for the insufficient pediatric pain education in Ghana can be attributed to the limited information received on pain during training as well as limited postgraduate training opportunities where pain is addressed [24]. It may also be possible that nurses who are involved in continuous educational programs after their first qualification do not share this knowledge with other nurses who might not have the opportunity to enroll in these programs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Nursing-Related Barriers to Children’s Pain Management at Selected Hospitals in Ghana: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Amponsah

Kyei

Agyemang

et al. 2020

Pain Research and Management

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Staff shortages, deficient knowledge, inappropriate attitudes, demanding workloads, analgesic shortages, and low prioritization of pain management have been identified in earlier studies as the nursing-related barriers to optimal children’s pain management. These studies have mainly been undertaken in developed countries, which have different healthcare dynamics than those in developing countries. The current study, therefore, sought to identify and understand the nursing-related barriers to children’s pain management in the Ghanaian context. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted among 28 purposively sampled nurses working in the pediatric units of five hospitals in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Over the course of three months, participants were interviewed on the barriers which prevented them from optimally managing children’s pain in practice. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and deductively analysed based on a conceptual interest in pain assessment and management-related barriers. NVivo 12 plus software guided data management and analyses. The mean age of participating nurses was 30 years, with majority being females (n = 24). Participants had worked in the nursing profession for an average of five years and in the pediatric care settings for an average of two years. The nursing-related barriers identified in the present study included communication difficulties in assessing and evaluating pain management interventions with children who have nonfunctional speech, insufficient training, misconceptions on the experience of pain in children, lack of assessment tools, and insufficient number of nurses to manage the workload and nurses’ inability to prescribe analgesics. The present study revealed some barriers which prevented Ghanaian nurses from optimally managing children’s pain. Nurses should be educated, empowered, and supported with the requisite material resources to effectively manage children’s pain and improve outcomes for families, healthcare systems, and the nation. Future studies should explore the facilitators and barriers from other stakeholders involved in pediatric pain management.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Nursing-Related Barriers to Children’s Pain Management at Selected Hospitals in Ghana: A Descriptive Qualitative Study

Amponsah

Kyei

Agyemang

et al. 2020

Pain Research and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many of these results are consistent with those identified by Ortiz and colleagues in Mexico [12]. Insufficient educational preparation coupled with the shortage of pain specialists in various nursing faculties and hospitals in Ghana [22] may also be responsible for the observed results. More emphasis should be placed on the identified deficient areas during the development and implementation of future educational interventions on pediatric pain management.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Final Year Nursing Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes regarding Children’s Pain

Amponsah

Kyei‐Dompim

Kyei

et al. 2020

Pain Research and Management

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Pain is one of the commonest reasons why children visit the hospital. Inadequately treated pain in children can negatively affect their physical, psychological, and social well-being; it also places financial burden on families of affected children and healthcare systems in general. Considering the eventual suffering of vulnerable children and their families if nursing students are insufficiently educated and ill-prepared, the current study aimed at assessing final year nursing student’s knowledge and attitudes pertaining to pediatric pain. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 final year undergraduate nursing students at a private university college in Ghana. In addition to their ages and gender, the students responded to the 42 individual items on the Pediatric Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes Survey regarding pain (PNKAS) instrument. Descriptive statistical analysis was aided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25 software. The mean age of the final year nursing students was 29 years (range of 21 to 47 years); a majority of them were females (78%). Participants had an average (SD) correct answer score of 44.0% (10.6%). Good pediatric pain knowledge and attitudes were observed in items that were related to the individualized and multidimensional nature of the pain experience and its treatment, benefits of pre-emptive analgesia, pharmacodynamics, and pain assessment. Poor pediatric pain knowledge and attitudes occurred in items that focused on pain perceptions, opioid drug administration, useful pain medications, pain physiology, and nonpharmacological pain management interventions. Final year nursing students have insufficient knowledge and attitudes toward children’s pain management. Areas of good and poor pediatric pain knowledge and attitudes should be considered when designing and implementing educational interventions on this subject. Curricular revisions should be made on existing nursing curriculum to lay more emphasis on children’s pain management and use educational interventions that support knowledge translation for improved care.

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“…Negative attitudes reported in this study is consistent with previous findings from the context of the study indicating nurses' inadequate analgesic administration for post-operative pain. 31 Also, health professionals have been found to have inadequate knowledge on pain management 32,33 and this could translate to negative attitudes on dysmenorrhea. Also, some health professionals perceived dysmenorrhea as a normal phenomenon and did not give participants care as was expected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%