title: Using e-learning to enhance nursing students' pain management education.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Absence of standardised pain curricula has led to wide diversity in the understanding and awareness of pain by healthcare students. Indeed pain management is frequently under-prioritised in nursing education, providing potential to negatively impact upon patient care. Yet the recent addition of Pain to the UK National Health Service's Essence of Care Benchmarks has highlighted the need to address this issue, and in response pain educators have called for the development of high quality, globally accessible e-learning resources in pain management.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study will determine the effectiveness of an e-learning intervention on pain management developed for nursing students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two variants of an e-learning resource on pain management were developed, each containing the same core content but one with a section focusing on pain assessment and the other on pharmacological management. Nursing students (n=42) were randomly assigned to trial one resource, after which they undertook a questionnaire adapted (to ensure alignment with the content of the e-learning resources) from Ferrell and McCaffrey's Nurses Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Pain Survey. Scores were analysed for each resource and year of study, and compared with scores from a standard non-intervention group completing the questionnaire only (n=164).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Scores averaged 19.2% higher for students undertaking the e-learning resources (p<0.005). Specifically, undertaking the assessment resource improved assessment knowledge more, whilst assignment to the treatment resource particularly enhanced pharmacological knowledge (p<0.005). Correlation was found between year of study and pain knowledge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results support the effectiveness of the resources independent of voluntary-response bias. Conclusions recommend that introducing e-learning has substantial benefit to enhance pain education in nursing.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Nottingham, UK. gemma_keefe@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keefe
authors.forename: Heather J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wharrad
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007858:Learning; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D059408:Pain Management / Q000451:nursing*; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006113:United Kingdom