Effects of a continuing education program on nurses' pain assessment practices

• Published in: Journal of pain and symptom management Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 90 - 97
• Main Authors: Francke, A.L., Luiken, J.B., de Schepper, A.M.E., Huijen Abu-Saad, H., Grypdonck, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.02.1997; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Continuing education; Education, Nursing, Continuing; Health participants; Humans; Medical sciences; Netherlands; nursing; pain assessment; Pain Management; Pain Measurement - methods; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Quality Assurance, Health Care; training; Netherlands; Europe; Continuing education; pain assessment; training; nursing; Pain; Health staff; Surgery; Professional practice; Hospital; Occupational education; Public health; Nurse
• ISSN: 0885-3924; 1873-6513
• DOI: 10.1016/S0885-3924(96)00267-9

Surgical nurses from five Dutch general hospitals participated in a continuing education program on pain assessment and management. A pretest-posttest controlled intervention study revealed theat the program led to an increase in the quality of activities relevant to taking pain histories. Although this increase in quality was most apparent 1 month after the program, it was still observable 6 months after the program. There were, however, no effects on the number of activities relevant to taking pain histories, or on the number of nurses who used direct questioning as a method to determine pain. There may be several explanations for these results, including nurses' limited openness to new approaches, a lack of support from physicians and nurse superiors, and that program items were not translated into ward policy.