Effectiveness of educational intervention on Jordanian nurses` knowledge and attitude regarding pain management

Aim: Although guidelines and pharmacological interventions exist to manage pain, poor assessment and under-medication are prevalent. It was reported that inadequacy of pain management can be due to nurses? lack of knowledge and training regarding pain management. Therefore, this study conducted to evaluate the impact of education on nurses? knowledge and attitude regarding pain management. Study Design: This study utilized the simple pre-post test design. Sample: Seventy nurses participated in the study using convenience sampling and they were recruited from eleven hospitals in Jordan. The Knowledge and Attitudes Survey regarding pain was used to evaluate the effects of educational intervention on nurses? knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management. Place and Duration of Study: Al Al-Bayat University, between May to June 2012 Results: It was found that 54% of the participants were females and the average age was 29.5 (SD 8.4). The most important findings of the study were the following: a) low level of knowledge regarding pain management in the pre-test phase, the mean number of the correct answers was 19.20 (SD 5.4) out of 40 (total score if all items answered correctly; b) nurses` knowledge and attitudes were significantly improved after the course (Wilcoxon matched-pairs exact p < .001). Conclusion: This study proved that short pain course could improve nurses? knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management. However, the sustainability of the change needs to be further investigated.