Does Clinical Experience Help Oncology Nursing Staff to Deal with Patient Pain Better than Nurses from other Displines? Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Amongst Nurses in a Tertiary Care in Malaysia

• Published in: Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP 2014, Vol.15 (12), p.4885-4891
• Main Authors: Yaakup, Hayati, Eng, Tan Chai, Shah, Shamsul Azhar
• Format: Article
• Language: Korean
• ISSN: 1513-7368; 2476-762X

Background: Successful implementation of pain management procedures and guidelines in an institution depends very much on the acceptance of many levels of healthcare providers. Aim: The main purpose of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and attitudes regarding pain among nurses working in tertiary care in a local setting and the factors that may be associated with this. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional research study used a modified version of the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (NKAS) regarding pain. Basic demographic data were obtained for further correlation with the level of pain knowledge. Results: A total of 566 nurses, 34 male and 532 female, volunteered to participate in this study. The response rate (RR) was 76%, with an overall mean percentage score of $42.7{\pm}10.9$ (range: 5-92.5). The majority of participants were younger nurses below 40 years of age and more than 70% had worked for less than 10 years ($6.6{\pm}4.45$). Up to 92% had never had any formal education in pain management in general. The total mean score of correct answers was $58.6{\pm}9.58$, with oncology nursing staff scoring a higher percentage when compared with nurses from other general and critical care wards ($63.52{\pm}9.27$, p