Shanmugam SR, Alabdullah AAS, Alenezi MH, Aldughyshim SK, Alnemer MF, Almutairi WK, Alhadyan GS, Albugomi RZ, Alkhulayfi FA. Knowledge and attitudes toward pediatric pain management among nursing interns from a selected university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study.
PeerJ 2025;
13:e19288. [PMID:
40276299 PMCID:
PMC12020733 DOI:
10.7717/peerj.19288]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2025] [Indexed: 04/26/2025] Open
Abstract
Introduction
Pediatric pain is often not addressed properly in the literature, which suggests a research gap in pediatric health-care providers' knowledge and attitudes toward the treatment of pain experienced by children in various health-care settings. To improve future practice in this area, nursing interns should be well versed in pediatric pain assessment and management to improve pediatric pain management practices in collaboration with other health-care professionals.
Purpose
This study aimed to assess the levels of knowledge and attitudes toward pediatric pain management among nursing interns at a specific academic institution.
Methods
This descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study employed an online questionnaire to collect data from 119 female nursing interns in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition to collecting the participants' demographic profiles, the questionnaire gathered data using the Pediatric Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS for Windows (v. 21.0).
Results
The nursing interns' overall knowledge and attitudes toward pediatric pain management were found to be poor, with a mean score of 36.59% (standard deviation, 13.2).
Conclusion
Additional education and clinical training for nursing interns is essential to enhance their knowledge and attitudes toward pediatric pain management.
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