Evaluating the relationship between empathy, pain knowledge and attitudes among nursing students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Pain Management
• Empathy in Healthcare

Background:

• Effective pain management is crucial for nurses, starting from their student years.
• Nursing students' pain assessment effectiveness is influenced by knowledge, positive attitudes, and empathy.
• Existing literature lacks studies investigating the relationship between nursing students' pain knowledge, attitudes, and empathy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing nursing students' knowledge and attitudes toward pain.
• To assess the correlation between nursing students' empathy levels and their pain knowledge and attitudes.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative, descriptive-correlation study design.
• Involved 133 third and senior grade nursing students in North Cyprus.
• Utilized the 'Student Descriptive Information Form', 'Knowledge and Attitude about Pain' questionnaire, and the 'Basic Empathy Scale' (BES).

Main Results:

• Students exhibited mean affective and cognitive empathy scores of 30.16 and 29.29, respectively.
• The mean score on the 'Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain' was 13.50.
• While 91% recognized patients as the best pain judges, only 1.5% answered correctly on pharmacological pain therapy; correlations between empathy and pain knowledge/attitudes were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Current nursing curricula may not adequately prepare students in pain management knowledge and attitudes.
• Recommendations include enhancing pain management education, incorporating empathy training, and increasing clinical practice frequency.