title: Pain management topics of interest for nurses in rural Appalachia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Continuing education for registered nurses is a component of safe, effective pain management in every clinical setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred ninety-one registered nurses from seven counties in rural southwestern Virginia completed a 22-item survey that assessed their interest in pain management topics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean interest score for all respondents was 4.04 (range = 1 to 5). Mean interest scores did not differ significantly between younger and older respondents (t = 1.034, p = .302) or between clinical settings (t = 0.479, p = .632). The mean interest scores for nurses with an associate's degree in nursing/diploma and those with a bachelor of science in nursing or higher were 4.19 and 3.88, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (t = 3.535, p < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nearly 300 registered nurses from communities in the southwestern Virginia area of Appalachia indicated interest in a wide variety of pain management topics. Nurses with at most an associate's degree in nursing/diploma were significantly more interested in pain management education than those with a bachelor of science in nursing or higher degree. The overall interest scores were high, indicating that the respondents found the topics salient to their clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, School of Nursing, Charlottesville, VA, USA. clc5t@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Cathy L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Diane E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Boyer
authors.forename: Lisa C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rovnyak
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rovynak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001061:Appalachian Region; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing*; D019035:Rural Health Services; D055815:Young Adult