Emergency nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy in managing patient pain: a cross-sectional study

Background: This study aimed to evaluate emergency nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy in managing patient pain. Methods: This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2022, collected data using four questionnaires: one on demographic characteristics (including age, gender, marital status, education level, shift type, clinical experience, and history of participating in pain management workshops); the Pain Management Practices Assessment Tool for evaluating nurses’ knowledge about pain management; the Nurses’ Attitude Survey for assessing nurses’ attitudes toward pain management; and the Pain Management Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for measuring nurses’ self-efficacy in pain management. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 software. Results: 212 emergency department nurses participated in this study, averaging 30.83 years (SD = 4.99). The mean score for nurses’ knowledge about pain management was 83.33 (SD = 7.95). The mean score for nurses’ attitudes toward pain management was 55.48 (SD = 7.44). Additionally, the average score for nurses’ self-efficacy about pain management was 46.17 (SD = 16.69). There was a positive and significant correlation between knowledge and self-efficacy ( r = 0.552, P < 0.001), as well as between attitude and self-efficacy ( r = 0.694, P < 0.001) toward pain management among emergency nurses. Conclusions: Future research should focus on longitudinal studies, objective measures, and interdisciplinary approaches to further understand and improve pain management in emergency settings. These insights can inform policy development and the creation of standardized protocols to ensure effective and consistent pain management practices across healthcare environments.