PERCEPTION OF PAIN MANAGEMENT AMONG CARDIAC NURSES ON POST OPEN-HEART SURGERY

Abstract

Effective pain management enables the nurses to assist patients post open-heart surgery in their recovery process; however, the numbers of patient-controlled analgesic (PCA) usage is increasing yearly. Therefore, it is a need to explore cardiac nurses' perception on pain management in post open-heart surgery. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 113 respondents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A 23-item Toronto pain management inventory questionnaire was adapted and a visual analog score (VAS) from 0±100 was used to determine nurses’ perception was then converted to percentage. The total mean score was (M= 63.10; SD ±4.10) which reported a moderate level of perception in pain management. Participants’ age more than 30 years old and nursing experience more than 5 years have a better perception in pain management. The finding also shows participants with a lower educational background have a better perception in managing pain compared to the higher education level. Participants’ age (t= -1.210, p values =0.22); gender (t= 0.518, p values =0.60); educational level (t= 2.231, p values =0.02) year of nursing experience (t= -2.90, p value 0.00); pain management education (t= -0.281, p values 0.78) and duration of pain management education (t= 0.368, p values 0.71) respectively. In conclusion, the cardiac nurses possess moderate level of perception towards pain management in this private hospital. The nurses’ education level and years of nursing experience reported to be significantly associated. Cardiac nurse with Diploma education level and nursing experience more than 5 years has a better perception in pain management.