Abstract:
Abstract
Background: Pain is a common and devastating symptom of cancer which affects patient’s life
more than the cancer with which they are diagnosed. It has a profound impact in all aspect of
quality of life and it is the dominant cause of total suffering for cancer patients. The most
significant barrier to the optimal control of pain in cancer patients is deficit in knowledge and
attitude of nurses.
Objective: To assess knowledge and attitude level of nurses and associated factors towards
cancer pain management at oncology centers in Ethiopia, 2019
Method: An institutional based cross sectional study was conducted from February to April,
2019. A structured questionnaire with background characteristics of nurses was used to collect
data. A total of 138 nurses from all oncology centers were included in the study. Both bi-variable
and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with
knowledge and attitude level of nurses. Variables with a p-value less than <0.2 in the bivariable
analysis was fitted into the multivariable logistic regression analysis. Both Crude odds ratio and
adjusted odds ratio with the corresponding 95% Confidence Interval were calculated to show the
strength of association. In multivariable analysis, variables with a p-value of <0.05 was
considered as statistically significant.
Results: In this study, only 7.2% (95% CI: 2.9, 11.6) of oncology nurses had good knowledge
and attitude about cancer pain management. Nurses who had masters degree (AOR: 4.70, 95%
CI: 1.12, 19.73 and p-value: 0.034) were positively associated with good knowledge and attitude
about cancer pain management.
Conclusion and recommendation: In this nationwide study, the knowledge and attitude level of
majority of oncology nurses towards cancer pain management was poor. Nurses who had MSc
degree were significantly associated with good knowledge and attitude towards cancer pain
management. Our result supports the universal concern of inadequate knowledge and attitudes of
nurses regarding cancer pain management. Thus, regular and comprehensive cancer pain
management training and revision of the contents of pain in the academic curriculum of nursing
education are necessary to enhance nurses’ knowledge of pain and possibly to improve practice.
Key word: cancer pain, knowledge, attitude, oncology nurses
