TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes towards Cancer Pain Management in Oman
AU - Zaabi, Adhari Al
AU - Al-Saadi, Maeen
AU - Alaswami, Husain
AU - Al-Musalami, Atika
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/8/2
Y1 - 2023/8/2
N2 - Cancer care in the Gulf Cooperation Countries, including Oman, faces challenges due to increasing incidence and late-stage diagnoses. Cancer patients at later stages suffer complex symptoms, pain being a prominent one. Access to adequate pain relief is a global problem, including in the Middle East, where palliative care is lacking. Nurses play a crucial role in pain assessment and management but often lack the necessary training, resulting in inadequate relief and prolonged hospital stays. This study aims to examine the knowledge and attitudes of nurses in a national cancer center toward the management of cancer pain, with the goal of identifying any gaps in their knowledge. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among nurses at the national cancer center in the Royal Hospital. The Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (NKASRP) was used to determine the pain-related knowledge and attitudes of the nurses. Out of 150 registered nurses, 118 participated in this study (78% response rate). The mean NKASRP score was 49.6%. Half of the participants (50%) had a poor level of knowledge and attitude, 46% had fair knowledge and attitude, and only five participants (4%) had a good level of knowledge and attitude. A statistically significant association existed between knowledge and education level, years of experience caring for cancer patients, and prior pain management training (p < 0.05). A low level of knowledge and attitude among nurses in cancer pain management is a significant challenge in providing comprehensive cancer care. Adequate training of nurses in cancer pain management is essential to providing effective pain management and improving the quality of life of cancer patients.
AB - Cancer care in the Gulf Cooperation Countries, including Oman, faces challenges due to increasing incidence and late-stage diagnoses. Cancer patients at later stages suffer complex symptoms, pain being a prominent one. Access to adequate pain relief is a global problem, including in the Middle East, where palliative care is lacking. Nurses play a crucial role in pain assessment and management but often lack the necessary training, resulting in inadequate relief and prolonged hospital stays. This study aims to examine the knowledge and attitudes of nurses in a national cancer center toward the management of cancer pain, with the goal of identifying any gaps in their knowledge. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among nurses at the national cancer center in the Royal Hospital. The Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (NKASRP) was used to determine the pain-related knowledge and attitudes of the nurses. Out of 150 registered nurses, 118 participated in this study (78% response rate). The mean NKASRP score was 49.6%. Half of the participants (50%) had a poor level of knowledge and attitude, 46% had fair knowledge and attitude, and only five participants (4%) had a good level of knowledge and attitude. A statistically significant association existed between knowledge and education level, years of experience caring for cancer patients, and prior pain management training (p < 0.05). A low level of knowledge and attitude among nurses in cancer pain management is a significant challenge in providing comprehensive cancer care. Adequate training of nurses in cancer pain management is essential to providing effective pain management and improving the quality of life of cancer patients.
KW - advanced stage
KW - attitude
KW - cancer pain
KW - knowledge
KW - nurses
KW - palliative
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UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/a66ff2a1-7bbf-3ed2-b077-466a829efda0/
U2 - 10.3390/cancers15153925
DO - 10.3390/cancers15153925
M3 - Article
C2 - 37568741
AN - SCOPUS:85167833550
SN - 2072-6694
VL - 15
JO - Cancers
JF - Cancers
IS - 15
M1 - 3925
ER -