Nurses’ knowledge, attitude and practices regarding pain assessment among patients with cancer at Uganda Cancer Institute

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with cancer often experience mild to severe pain. Therefore, effective pain assessment and management is paramount to this patient sub-population. This study sought to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices associated with pain assessment among nurses at Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at UCI among 67 randomly selected nurses. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 26 years with the standard deviation (SD) of 2.46. The average knowledge scale score was 12 (range: 0-16), indicating good knowledge of pain assessment. Nurses’ average attitude scale score was 9 out of a total score of 12, indicating a positive attitude towards pain assessment. Practices included use of standardized pain assessment tools (61.2%), patient observation (41.8%), documentation (94.0%), and administration of analgesics (56.7%). Most common assessment tool used was the verbal rating scale (32.8%). Pain assessment findings were rarely discussed (52.2%) during nurses’ reports. Conclusion: Nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practices of pain assessment and intervention are essential components in promoting patient comfort; continuous professional development and research in this area is needed.

Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Professional Practice, Neoplasms, Pain Measurement, Nurses