Saudi nursing students' pain management knowledge and attitudes

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the level and identify predictors of nursing students' knowledge and attitudes of pain management.

Design: A cross-sectional design was used to analyse nursing students' knowledge and attitudes about pain management, with the Knowledge and Attitude Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP).

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a convenient sample of Saudi nursing students. A total of 193 nursing students from a nursing school at a Saudi university completed the questionnaires.

Results: The student mean knowledge of pain management was 42.6 (SD 9.1) . The items answered correctly most frequently concerned pain medication and administration. On the other hand, the most commonly incorrect items were mainly related to assessment and pharmacological interventions. Logistic regression analysis found that gender was significantly associated with level of knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management.

Keywords: attitude; knowledge; nursing student; pain management.