Nurses’ attitudes toward pain treatment with opioids: a survey in a Belgian university hospital

Aim: To investigate nurses’ attitudes toward pain treatment with opioids in a Belgian university hospital. Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive study design was used. The randomised sample included 350 nurses working in the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium. Non-response was 10.9%. Nurses’ attitudes were explored by a structured questionnaire. The score on the opioid attitude scale (OAS) varied between 9 and 45. Results: Despite a neutral to positive score on the OAS (mean=69.4%), nurses had clearly negative attitudes towards the use of opioids during a diagnostic phase and the risk of possible addiction. These negative attitudes can hinder adequate pain treatment.