Factors predicting nurses’ competency for pain management at a tertiary hospital, Nepal

Abstract

This study aimed to examine nurses’ competency for pain management and the predictive factors of educational level, work experience, working unit, nurse-physician relationship, and training on pain management on nurses’ competency for pain management. The total sample size was 203 staff nurses who had work experience related to pain for more than two months at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in Nepal. The subjects were selected by convenience sampling technique from December 2020 to February 2021. The four parts of questionnaires were used to collect the data: demographic, general information, staff work relationship, and nurse pain management competency. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, chi-square, and binary logistic regression. The results reported that nurses had a high score on nurses’ pain management competency (mean = 22.41, SD = 4.65). Work experience [OR = 0.426 (95% CI: 0.205–0.887)] significantly predicted nurses’ competency for pain management. However, there was no significant association in the work unit, educational level, training, and staff work relationship. Based on the findings, it recommends that training related to the clinical manifestations of patients who use opioids must be implemented, and nurses should be given opportunities from the beginning of their career development to be more competent in pain management.