Knowledge and Attitudes of Pediatric Pain in Mongolian Nurses

Wednesday, 24 July 2013: 4:10 PM

Lisa Joy Matasovsky, DNP, CPNP
Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX

Learning Objective 1: 1. Understand current nursing knowledge of pediatric pain of Mongolian nurses by reviewing asessement tools and educational content utilized in this project

Learning Objective 2: 2. Conceptualize future assessment of pediatric pain knowledge of nurses working in developing countries by reviewing phases of this project.

Purpose:

The World Health Organization and the International Association for Study of Pain cite the significance of pediatric pain as a significant global health issue. Developing countries may have increased needs than developed countries due to limited resources and lack of training. In Mongolia a paucity of data exists regarding nursing knowledge of pediatric pain management. The purpose of this project was to assess the current knowledge of pediatric pain and to assess the effectiveness of an education intervention on improving knowledge and attitudes of pediatric nurses working at a major children’s hospital in Mongolia.

Methods: Knowledge and attitudes of Mongolian nurses were evaluated pre and post a two-hour educational intervention. The translated Modified Mongolian Pediatric Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain-Shriner’s revision survey was used as a pre and post intervention assessment instrument with local nurses at a pediatric hospital in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia.  

Results: 167 nurses attended the conference with 155 nurses completing the pre and post surveys. The mean score on the pre survey was 12.7 out of 35 (26.4% correct) while the mean score on the post survey score was 16.7 out of 35 (47.8% correct). An unpaired t test showed a significant statistical difference between scores (p<.0001). 

Conclusion: Pediatric nurses in Mongolia demonstrate insufficient knowledge of pediatric pain management. The educational intervention was effective in improving pediatric pain knowledge and attitudes in Mongolian nurses. It is recommended to establish similar educational endeavors with nurses around the world to improve pain knowledge and attitudes.