Nurse's Competency in Pain Management and Associated Factors

Abstract

This cross-sectional descriptive research aimed to investigate pain management competency of professional nurses and associated factors regarding work experience, training experience, and communication skills. The 134 professional nurses at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Data were collected using personal information sheets, pain management competency questionnaire comprising 1) fundamental concepts of pain, 2) pain assessment and measurement, 3) management of pain, and 4) context of pain management, and communication skills of professional nurses’ questionnaire. Data were analysed by Spearman's Rank Correlation.

The research findings revealed that the professional nurse competency in pain management was overall at a high level ( = 3.62, SD = 0.73). The overall communication skills of nurses in pain management were at a good level (= 3.45, SD = 1.01). When examining the relationship between factors such as work duration and nurse competency in pain management, no significant correlation was found (r = .153, p = .078). However, the training experience of nurses related to pain management was positive correlation with nurse competency in pain management at a low level (r = 0.257, p = .003). Meanwhile, the communication skills of nurses in pain management were moderately positive correlations with competency in pain management (r = 0.576, p = .000). Especially, communication between nurses and other nurses, nurses and patients or family members, as well as nurses and professional colleagues, exhibited moderate positive correlations with nurse competency in pain management (r = 0.521, 0.520, 0.614, p = .000, respectively).