Nurses, Pain, Attitudes, and the Elderly

What do nurses know, and what are their attitudes about pain management? Researchers assessed just that in a study published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. 154 nurses working at the National Geriatric Hospital in Vietnam completed the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain: 72.2% had “poor knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management.” Those who had pain management training and/or used pain assessment tools showed a much higher level of knowledge than those who didn’t.

The study’s conclusion makes the importance of pain management education clear: “This study highlights significant deficits of knowledge and negative attitudes regarding pain management among nurses working in a geriatric hospital. It is recommended that the subject of pain and its management be applied and enhanced in continuous education and the nursing undergraduate curriculum. Nurses’ active participation in pain management should be encouraged and pain assessment tools should be routinely used by healthcare providers for older patients who report pain in clinical practice. Further studies are needed to assess the changes in knowledge and attitudes toward pain as curricular revisions are made.”

 

Read the journal article.

Other Categories:

• multimodal pain management

• pain management