Assessment of the knowledge and attitudes of the nurses working in Al-Najaf Teaching Hospitals on pain management

The aim of this study was to evaluate nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards pain management. The study was carried out with 216 nurses working in the emergency department, internal and surgical service and intensive care unit of AL-NAJAF educational hospitals. The study was conducted as a descriptive cross-sectional study in teaching hospitals in Al-Najaf, Iraq, between 20 December 2021 and 16 April 2022. The data were collected face-to-face with the sociodemographic form and the Nurses' Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire on Pain. The years of employment of 83.8% of the nurses were between 1-10 years and the average years of employment was 6.44±5.47. When nurses were evaluated in terms of their knowledge and attitude levels, age groups, gender, educational status, years of experience, and fields of study, no statistically significant difference was observed between age groups, gender, educational status, years of experience, fields of study, and knowledge and attitude levels (p>0,05). Nurses were found to be more knowledgeable about pain assessment and management at a moderate level. As a result, implementations to improve nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards pain management should be supported.