Using e-learning to enhance nursing students' pain management education.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Pain Management
• E-learning

Background:

• Standardized pain management curricula are lacking in healthcare education, leading to varied student understanding.
• Pain management is often a low priority in nursing education, potentially affecting patient care.
• There is a growing need for accessible e-learning resources in pain management for nurses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed e-learning intervention for nursing students on pain management.
• To assess the impact of e-learning modules focused on pain assessment and pharmacological management.

Main Methods:

• Two e-learning resource variants were created, differing in their focus on pain assessment or pharmacological management.
• Nursing students (n=42) were randomly assigned to use one resource and then completed a knowledge and attitudes survey.
• Intervention group scores were compared to a non-intervention group (n=164).

Main Results:

• Students using e-learning scored an average of 19.2% higher on pain management knowledge (p<0.005).
• The assessment-focused resource improved knowledge of pain assessment, while the pharmacological resource enhanced knowledge of pain treatment.
• A correlation was observed between the students' year of study and their pain management knowledge.

Conclusions:

• The e-learning resources are effective in improving nursing students' pain management knowledge.
• E-learning interventions offer significant benefits for enhancing pain education within nursing programs.
• The study's findings support the integration of e-learning to address gaps in pain management training for nurses.