dc.contributor.author | Jin, Zahra | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2016-04-20T07:58:17Z | |
dc.date.available | 2016-04-20T07:58:17Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2015 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11295/94341 | |
dc.description.abstract | Objectives
To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of different healthcare workers regarding pain
assessment and management in children. Additionally, to determine if socio- demographic
factors such as cadre of HCW and the number of years in clinical practice are variables that
have an independent association with level of knowledge and attitudes in pain management.
Methods
This was a quantitative cross-sectional survey using a standardized survey questionnaire, the
Paediatric Nurses’Knowledge and Attitudes Survey (PNKAS)©, supplemented with focus
group discussions(FGDs) conducted among health care workers, including nurses, paediatric
post-graduate students and paediatric consultants who care for children within the general
paediatric wards at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Results
On average, health workers responded correctly to 16 out of the 34 questionnaire items,
resulting in a mean score of 47.2% (SD 13.0). When controlling for healthcare worker cadre,
there was a significant difference in performance levels with doctors performing significantly
better than nurses on the questionnaire (χ² (2, N = 96) = 16.55, p < .001). More years in
clinical practice were also associated with poorer scores on the survey questionnaire. Notable
areas of weakness in paediatric pain management as identified by the survey questionnaire
and FGDs included: inadequate knowledge and attitudes of pain assessment in children,
inadequate knowledge of pharmacologic treatment of pain such as scheduling protocols and
duration of analgesics as well as misconceptions about the side effects of opioids such as
respiratory depression and addiction.
Conclusion
Significant knowledge deficiencies exist regarding currently accepted principles of pain
management practice, as well as beliefs that could interfere with optimal care. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | University of Nairobi | en_US |
dc.subject | pain assessment and management in children | en_US |
dc.title | Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers at Kenyatta national hospital on pain assessment and management in children | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
dc.description.department | a
Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, ; bDepartment of Mental Health, School of Medicine,
Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya | |