Do No Harm: Nursing Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Pain Management

Nurses play an important role in effectively assessing and managing patients' pain. There is limited evidence in relation to Australian undergraduate nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and management of pain and this study attempts to address this gap.

To explore the current knowledge and attitudes to pain management among undergraduate nursing students.

This is a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 150 undergraduate nursing students from three Australian regional universities measuring student knowledge and attitudes toward pain management and assessment using the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) tool between May and September 2023.

The average scores for each year level in relation to the total KASRP were Year 1 (M = 22.98; SD = 4.74), Year 2 (M = 25.09; SD = 4.46), and Year 3 (M = 27.27; SD = 4.22). There were statistically significant differences in KASRP scores between students across the three years of the program. The results also indicated that very few students were able to achieve the overall pass rate (80%). Additionally, medication knowledge was an identified aspect of pain management poorly answered.

Nursing students' pain knowledge and attitudes appear to improve throughout their undergraduate program, however there are significant knowledge deficits that may impede the ability to assess and manage pain in clinical practice. This knowledge may be helpful for nursing educators and curriculum developers to develop strategies to address this gap.