Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes toward pain assessment and management for adult sickle cell disease patients during sickling crisis

Abstract

In the kingdom of Bahrain an estimated 18,000 people suffer from Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) and many experience periodic episodes of sickling crisis. Research studies that examine the knowledge and attitudes of nurses toward pain assessment and management of SCD patients are limited especially in the Middle East. This study aims to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes of nursing staff regarding pain assessment and management of patients with SCD during sickling crisis. A quantitative study design was utilized to recruit a convincence sample of 30 staff nurses working in adult SCD wards in one of governmental hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A modified version of Nurses' Knowledge and Attitude Survey questionnaire regarding Pain was used to examine the research variables. The results of the study showed that a mean score of knowledge was 15.8 out of 33 (47.8% out of 100%). This finding indicates that staff nurses had poor knowledge and negative attitudes toward SCD pain assessment and management. The findings showed no significant difference in the mean score of knowledge in relation with nationality (p = .693), age (p = .966), level of education (p = .732), years of experience (p = .887), and previous training courses or workshops on pain management (p = .877). This study suggests the need for implementing of specific strategies to effectively educate the staff nurses about pain assessment and management, and integrate pain management as a major component of the hospital in-house training programs.

Emergency nurses´ knowledge, attitude and perceived barriers regarding pain Management in Resource-Limited Settings: cross-sectional study

“…The level of knowledge, along with the attitude of the ED nurses influenced the quality of care that patients receive [9]. Nurses’ foundational knowledge regarding pain has been shown to be correlated with better overall patient outcomes and satisfaction [10] .…”

“…In this regard, to reduce the suffering of patients, as primary caregiver, nurses must have adequate knowledge and proper attitude towards pain management [14]. Nevertheless, studies conducted in critical care, oncology, medical and postoperative care demonstrated nurses’ lack of adequate knowledge and inappropriate attitude as one of the significant barriers towards effective pain management [9, 15–17].…”

Ağrı ile ilişkili girişimler konusunda hemşirelerin bilgi ve yaklaşımları

“…Dört seçenekten oluşan bilgi sorularının değerlendirilmesinde, doğru ifadelerden en az 2'sini işaretleyenler "Biliyor", yanlış seçeneği veya doğru seçeneklerden birini işaretleyenler ile boş bırakılanlar ise "Bilmiyor" şeklinde değerlendirilmiştir. 13,18 .…”

Development and psychometric appraisal of the Pain Management Self‐Efficacy Questionnaire

“…Stanley and Pollard () even hypothesized that self‐efficacy increases with greater knowledge and skills in pain management. As competence in pain management is indispensable to ensure effective approaches (Al‐Khawaldeh, Al‐Hussami, & Darawad, ; Craig, ; Yaqoob & Nasaif, ), nurses must engage in continuous professional education to advance knowledge, skills, attitude and self‐efficacy in pain management (Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), ). However, literature also highlighted the importance of exploring the beliefs and attitudes of healthcare professionals (Nasser et al., ; RNAO, ; Wells et al., ; Yaqoob & Nasaif, ).…”

“…As competence in pain management is indispensable to ensure effective approaches (Al‐Khawaldeh, Al‐Hussami, & Darawad, ; Craig, ; Yaqoob & Nasaif, ), nurses must engage in continuous professional education to advance knowledge, skills, attitude and self‐efficacy in pain management (Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), ). However, literature also highlighted the importance of exploring the beliefs and attitudes of healthcare professionals (Nasser et al., ; RNAO, ; Wells et al., ; Yaqoob & Nasaif, ). Healthcare professionals with poor knowledge and skills and have negative attitudes towards pain management, especially with opioid analgesics, may ineffectively assess and treat pain (Yanni et al., ).…”