From Knowledge to Practice: Intensive Care Nurses’ Pain Management Behaviors in Turkey

Background This study aimed to examine the knowledge and behaviours of the intensive care nurses about pain. Methods The descriptive and cross-sectional study. This study was a descriptive cross-sectional trial which consist of 72 intensive care nurses. ‘Nurse Information Form’, ‘Nurses Knowledge and Behavioral Questionnaire’ were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U Test analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Results It was determined that 62.5% of the intensive care nurses participating in our study were 30 years old or younger. 100% of the nurses participating in the study used a scale in assessing pain, but only 21.6% of the nurses used the behavioral pain scale. It was determined that the level of knowledge of the nurses about pain was moderate. It was determined that there was a significant difference between the nurses' pain-related education and Nurses Knowledge and Behavioral Questionnaire’ scores. Conclusion It was determined that the knowledge level of the nurses working in the intensive care unit was moderate and very few of the nurses used the behavioral pain scale to determine the pain of the patients in the intensive care unit. Clinical trial number Not applicable.