A Study on the Knowledge Related to Children's Pain of pediatric Nurses According to their Career

아동병동 간호사의 경력에 따른 아동 통증지식에 대한 연구

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify pediatric nurses's knowledge related to children's pain and pediatric nurses' career including educational experience and to examine whether there is a difference of their knowledge according to their career. Method : Subjects of this study was 115 pediatric nurses of one university hospital who understood purpose of this study and accepted to participate in this study. Subjects responded questionnaire by self report. The data were gathered for 7 days during the period from October 20 to October '2:7, 2003. The pediatric nurses' knowledge and attitude survey regarding pain developed by Manworren(2001) was used to identify the knowledge related to children's pain of pediatric nurses. Nurses' career consisted of level of education, presently working ward, duration of experience at clinic, pediatric clinic and presently working ward and educational experience related to children's pain during undergraduate courses, ward orientation and continuing education. Educational experience regarding children's pain was measured by whether they had education related to children's pain during undergraduate courses, ward orientation and continuing education or not and their perception on the contents of education was measured by 5 point Likert type scale. SPSS Windows was used to analyze the data. Scores of the knowledge regarding children's pain and career including educational experience of pediatric nurses were presented as mean and standard deviation. Mean percentage of correct answers responded by the subjects was presented under the category of introduction, assessment, pharmacological and nonpharmacological intervention for children's pain. The difference of scores of the knowledge regarding children's pain according to nurses' career was analyzed using t-test, ANOVA and Tukey as a post hoc. Statistical significance was accepted at the level of p<.05. Result : Pediatric nurses had deficient knowledge related to children's pain on the whole and did not trust pain complaint and underestimated the pain. They were short of concrete practical knowledge about pain assessment and pharmacological and nonpharmacological intervention for children's pain. They were excessively concerned with side effect and addiction of analgesic drugs and had a negative view point on nonpharmacological pain intervention. About 50% of the subjects received education regarding children's pain while their undergraduate courses. The number of nurses who received education regarding children's pain while their undergraduate courses was found to be greater among the recently graduated nurses. In ward orientation and continuing education, only less than 10% of the nurses received education regarding children's pain. Nurses perceived their experienced educational content deficient; experienced educational content consisted of pain introduction, assessment and pharmacological and nonpharmacological intervention for children's pain while their undergraduate course, ward orientation and continuing education. There were no significant differences of the knowledge regarding children's pain of pediatric nurses according to level of education, duration of experience at clinic, pediatric clinic and presently working ward. Scores of the knowledge regarding children's pain of nurses at neonatal ward were significantly greater than those of nurses at pediatric intensive care unit. Scores of the knowledge regarding children's pain of pediatric nurses who received education during their undergraduate course were significantly greater than those who did not receive it during their undergraduate courses. Also scores of the knowledge regarding children's pain of pediatric nurses who received one kind of educational experience were significantly greater than those who had no educational experience. Conclusion : Pediatric nurses had deficient knowledge of children's pain and underestimated the pain of children. Also they were short of concrete practical knowledge on pain assessment and intervention for children's pain.