Objective: Identify the knowledge and attitudes on pain by nurses in general surgery and oncology units in Level III hospitals, and to find out if there are any differences between groups.
Method: A multicentre, observational, analytical and cross-sectional study conducted in the general surgery and oncology units in 5 Spanish level III hospitals. Study subjects were all nurses working in these units. We collected demographic variables, as well as employment and training on the level of pain. To assess the knowledge and attitudes the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain questionnaire was used.
Results: Of the 236 questionnaires delivered, 170 were successfully completed (72%). A total of 96 nurses (58%) indicated that they had received specific training on pain. A large majority, 85% (145) felt that patients should not have pain, and 14.7% (25) said it was normal that they should have moderate or intense pain. A total of 93.8% (152) were in agreement that the person to assess the intensity of pain more accurately is the patient, 46% (74) considered that 10% of patients exaggerated the intensity of pain. The majority, 61.9% (52), did not know the equivalence between oral and intravenous morphine. The overall median of correct answers, of which there was 37 in the questionnaire, was 18 (min=0, max=28), categorized as a score of 0 to 10, the median was 5 (min=0, max=8).
Conclusions: The level of knowledge that the nurses studied had on pain was not very high. Specific training is required and its impact evaluated.