title: Education changes Mexican nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding pediatric pain.
abstract: This study explored the effectiveness of a pain education intervention on Mexican nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward pediatric pain. A convenience sample of 106 registered nurses from three hospitals in Mexico City was recruited. A Pediatric Pain Education Program (PPEP) was developed, implemented, and evaluated by a nurse researcher, clinical nurse specialist, and a child life specialist. The 4-hour program, which was translated into Spanish, consisted of pain assessment, physiology, and management, including pharmacology and nonpharmacology. The effects of PPEP were measured in a one-group pretest-posttest design using a translated Spanish version of the Pediatric Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (PNKAS). A total of 79 nurses completed both tests. A paired t test indicated significant differences between pre- and posttest results (p < .0001) on the PNKAS. The hospital site and years of nursing experience were significantly related to nurses' pre- and post-PNKAS scores. One test item on children's ability to reliably report their pain had a significantly lower score after the intervention (p = .016). The intervention was effective in improving Mexican pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitudes. However, it is not known how long this effect was maintained. Health care professionals can share a common vision for pain management by increasing international collaborative efforts and by advancing pediatric pain knowledge.
authors.affiliation: Center for Professional Excellence-Research, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039, USA. myra.huth@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Myra Martz
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Huth
authors.forename: Theresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Gregg
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010146:Pain / Q000451:nursing*; D059408:Pain Management; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D016746:Transcultural Nursing / Q000379:methods