Knowledge and Attitudes of Nurses Working at King Abdulaziz University Hospital toward Cancer Pain Management

Abstract

Objective: This survey aims to identify the levels of knowledge and attitudes among nurses regarding cancer pain management. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was undertaken at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, between September 4 and September 27, 2015. The survey instrument was a pre-set questionnaire comprising 39 closed-ended format questions. Participants were asked questions to assess their knowledge and attitudes about cancer pain management and adherence to frequent misconceptions regarding opioid therapy. The chi-square test was used to compare differences between variables. Results: One hundred twenty-eight questionnaires were completed and analyzed. A mean sample score of 41.3% was achieved on pain-related knowledge questions. The average score on all 39 questions was 16.1 ± 4.6 (range, 0 -24). Nurses on the male medical ward were most knowledgeable compared with those on other wards (p < 0.001). They were also most likely to score highest on questions that assessed knowledge of pain management (p < 0.001). Conversely, nurses on the female surgical ward were most likely to score highest on issues related to pain assessment (p < 0.001) and experience in managing breakthrough cancer pain (p < 0.001). Likewise, nurses on the male surgical and female medical wards appeared to be more knowledgeable on issues related to patient compliance (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Optimization of inpatient supportive procedures should be a specific task at King Abdulaziz University Hospital until an oncology unit with nurses specialized in cancer care is established.

Knowledge and Attitudes in Pain Relief Management Among Private Hospital Nurses

“…Education on attitude around pain is most important to the nurses (Chow & Chan, 2015). In the treatment of cancer pain, even though establishing reasonable pain control is an important priority for patients and clinicians, there are barriers for such huge numbers of under treatment which exist within the professionals and centre on lack of knowledge or poor attitudes towards pain and opioid analgesia (Admass et al, 2020;Al-Wassia, 2016;Kassa et al, 2014). However, in Malaysia, the researchers found limited studies to investigate the supposed obstacles to efficient pain relief treatment among nurses in the private sector.…”