Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitude towards Postoperative Pain Management in Ghana

Background . Pain management is a very important aspect of nursing care among postoperative patients. Deficit in the knowledge and bad attitude towards pain management among nurses remain a problem in Ghana. In order to manage pain better in the surgical wards, nurses should be well equipped with knowledge of pain assessment and management. Purpose . The purpose of the study was to determine nurse’s knowledge and attitude towards pain management among postoperative patients in surgical units in Ghana. Methodology . This study used the quantitative study approach with a descriptive cross-sectional study design. A sample of 211 nurses was recruited using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a questionnaire regarding postoperative pain management. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and the chi-squared test were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 16.0. Results . The mean age of the nurses was 29.77, with the youngest nurse being 23 years and oldest being 39 years. Majority (72.5%) of nurses had moderate knowledge, and 89.6% of the nurses had negative attitude towards pain management. There was no significant relationship between nurse’s knowledge and years of experience as a nurse (r = −0.03, p = 0.64 ), as well as no significant relationship between knowledge and number of years working in the surgical ward (r = 0.06, p = 0.36 ). Also, there was no significant relationship between nurses’ knowledge and nurses’ attitude (r = 0.06, p = 0.36 ). Conclusion and recommendation . The level of knowledge and attitude towards postoperative management were generally inadequate among nurses. Therefore, there is the need to implement in-service training on pain management for nurses working in the surgical units frequently.