Psychometric Evaluation of the Nurses' Cancer Pain Management Competency Scale

There is lack of instruments for assessing nurses' comprehensive pain management competency.

This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Nurses' Cancer Pain Management Competency Scale and to conduct a cursory survey of the pain management educational needs/resources of nurses caring for patients with cancer pain.

A convenience sample of 230 Korean nurses who met the eligibility criteria completed the researcher developed the Nurses' Cancer Pain Management Competency Scale and a pain management educational needs/resources survey. The Nurses' Cancer Pain Management Competency Scale was based on the pain management core competencies identified by Fishman et al (2013). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation.

Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.89. Nurse cancer pain management competency includes four factors, which accounted for 68.44% of the variance: the context of pain management, pain assessment and measurement, management of pain, and multidimensional nature of pain. Approximately 42% of nurses had no available protocols related to cancer pain management. Nurses preferred multi-component educational modalities, including simulation-based learning.

Findings support internal consistency reliability and content and construct validity of the Nurses' Cancer Pain Management Competency Scale that can help examine pain management competency of nurses. Adopting an evidence-based clinical cancer pain management-related protocol and multi-component training programs are needed to achieve optimal cancer pain management competency in nurses.