Effect of training given to nurses working in surgical units on nurses' pediatric pain knowledge and attitudes

The study was planned and applied as an '' interventional with pre-test/post-test'' in order to determine the knowledge level of nurses working in surgical units on pediatric pain and to evaluate the effectiveness of training on pediatric pain management, which will be given online afterwards . The population of the study consisted of 325 nurses working at Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University Hospital, and the sample consisted of 106 nurses working in surgical units with the potential to follow-up pediatric patients. The "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researcher with regard to the literature information and the data obtained with the "Pediatric Pain Knowledge and Attitude Scale" developed by Salentra et al. (1999) and edited by Twycross (2004) were evaluated using appropriate statistical methods in the SPSS 23 statistical package program. It was determined that the average age of the nurses who participated in the study is 28.52 ± 4.82, 81.1% are female, 43.4% are married, 78.3% are undergraduate and 36.8% have less than three years of professional experience. Moreover, it was concluded that 24% of the nurses work in the adult emergency unit, 80.2% follow pediatric patients in the unit where they work, and 56.6% have received training on pediatric pain before. While the total score average of the nurses' Pediatric Pain Knowledge and Attitude Scale before the education was 4.13 ± 0.43, it was determined to be 4.33 ± 0.424 after the education (p <0.05). As a result, the pediatric pain knowledge and attitudes of the nurses working in surgical units were observed to be higher than they were before the training. It is suggested to support nurses with in-service training on pediatric pain management and to repeat these trainings at regular intervals. Key Words: Pain, Pediatric Pain, Nursing Care, Pain Management