Iranian nurses' knowledge of pain and pain management: review Download PDF

Background and objective: Investigating the pain as the fifth vital sign [6] as well as one of the main steps of nursing process is of the main tasks of nurses. In order to manage the pain, nurses’ knowledge of pain, their proper attitude and performance are required. The present study aimed to review the studies performed on the Iranian nurses’ knowledge of pain and pain management. Method: the titles and keywords of articles were analyzed using the keywords of “knowledge of pain”, “pain management”, “nurse” and “Iran”. Databases of PubMed, Magiran, Medlibe, SID, Google Scholar were examined up to 2015. No limitation was considered on language and date of publication. Results: 14 articles were recognized eligible and examined. The results showed that Iranian nurses have the moderate knowledge of pain, positive attitude towards the relief of patients’ pain and weak to moderate performance in pain management. Conclusion: the results of the study show Iranian nurses’ inadequate knowledge of pain and improper pain management and it is recommended to consider training programs on pain for nurses and to create pain committees in hospitals.