Are nurses prepared to manage cancer pain? A national survey of nurses' knowledge about pain control in Taiwan.
Nurses play a crucial role in cancer pain control, but little is known about how well-prepared nurses are to manage cancer pain in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of knowledge about pain management among Taiwanese nurses with different background characteristics and to determine the predictor(s) of nurses' pain management knowledge. Nurse subjects were recruited by a cross-sectional nationwide survey with stratified sampling from nine hospitals distributed in the four major geographic regions of Taiwan. The Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey-Taiwanese version (NKAS-T) and a background information form were used to collect the data. Of 1900 surveys distributed, 1797 valid questionnaires (94.5%) were analyzed. The average correct response rate was 50.5%, with rates ranging from 7-86% for each survey question. Results from stepwise regression showed that nurses with higher mean correct answer scores had BS or higher degrees, had received pain education at professional conferences, had more prior hours of pain education, had longer clinical care experiences, and always worked with cancer patients. Nurses who worked in intensive care units, however, had significantly lower mean correct scores. The results strongly suggest an urgent need to strengthen pain education in Taiwan. The results also provide the direction for developing pain education.
Lai
Yeur-Hur
YH
College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chen
Mei-Ling
ML
Tsai
Li-Yun
LY
Lo
Li-Hua
LH
Wei
Ling-Ling
LL
Hong
Ming-Ying
MY
Hsiu
Ling-Nu
LN
Hsiao-Sheen
Shu-Tai
ST
Chen
Shu-Ching
SC
Kao
Chin-Chiu
CC
Huang
Tsai-Wei
TW
Chang
Shu-Chen
SC
Chen
Li
L
Guo
Shu-Liu
SL
D003625:Data Collection; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D009726:Nurses; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000451:nursing*; D013624:Taiwan