Background: Pain is a common phenomenon among emergency patients which may lead to chronic pain\nconditions and alteration of physiological function. However, it is widely reported that proper pain assessment and\nmanagement, which is often accomplished by adequately trained nurses reduce the suffering of patients. Therefore,\nthe aim of this study was to assess the emergency nurses´ knowledge, attitude and perceived barriers regarding\npain management.\nMethods: A cross-sectional quantitative study design was applied to determine the nurses´ knowledge level,\nattitude and the perceived barriers related to pain management. Hundred twenty-six nurses from the emergency\ndepartments of seven referral hospitals of Eritrea participated in the study. Data were collected in August and\nSeptember 2017. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarize and elaborate on the results.\nResult: In general, the knowledge level and attitude of the emergency nurses was poor. The participantsâ?? correct\nmean score was 49.5%. Nurses with Bachelorâ??s Degree had significantly higher knowledge and attitude level\ncompared to the nurses at the Diploma and Certificate level of professional preparation (95% CI = 7.1â??16.7 and 9.4â??\n19.1; p < 0.001) respectively. Similarly, nurses who had previous training regarding pain scored significantly higher\nknowledge level compared to those without training (95% CI =1.82â??8.99; p = 0.003). The highest perceived barriers\nto adequate pain management in emergency departments were measured to be overcrowding of the emergency\ndepartment (2.57 ± 1.25), lack of protocols for pain assessment (2.45 ± 1.52), nursing workload (2.44 ± 1.29) and lack\nof pain assessment tools (2.43 ± 1.43). There was no significant difference in perceived barriers among nurses with\ndifferent demographic characteristics.\nConclusion: The emergency nursesâ?? knowledge and attitude regarding pain management were poor. Nurses with\nhigher educational level and nurses with previous training scored significantly higher knowledge level. This\nindicates the need for nursing schools and the ministry of health to work together to educate nurses to a higher\nlevel of preparation for pain assessment and management.
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