Pain Management Practices by Nurses: Application of the Self-Efficacy Theory

Abstract

Pain management is one of the most recurrent healthcare services provided by nurses. Based on the proposition of the self-efficacy theory, knowledge and attitudes can affect the nurses; confidence and their ability to manage the patients’ discomforts, which consequently affects their ability to apply appropriate pain management practices. The study examines the relationship between knowledge and attitudes towards distress management and the nurse’s individual capability to manage pain. The research is a transverse, correlational design study involving 266 registered nurses (n = 266). The nurses were requested to provide information on pain management via three instruments: attitude to, knowledge of and self-efficacy of pain management. Statistically, the nurses displayed an essential relationship between self-efficacy and attitude towards pain management (β = 0.502, t = 10.119, p< 0.001). Also, the study discovered a substantial connection between the nurses’ familiarity to pain management and their ability to manage it in patients’ pain (β = 0.368, t = 6.619, p < 0.001). This study recommends that future research be undertaken to investigate the mediating effects of self-efficacy on the knowledge and attitude towards agony management relationship and distress management practices. Additionally, in future, scholars can examine the direct relationship between the effectiveness of agony control and pain management routines of nurses.