Evaluation of acute postoperative pain monitoring program for nurses in Thailand

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of an acute postoperative pain monitoring program (APPMP) on pain knowledge, attitude, and applicability of nurses at Prasat Neurological Institute, Bangkok, Thailand. Methods: This study was conducted from 1st March to 31st October 2008, at the Prasat Neurological Institute, Bangkok, Thailand. Thirty-five neurological nurses were recruited. The effectiveness was evaluated using 3 indicators: pain knowledge score, attitude score, and nursing practice score. The mean score from each indicator group was calculated as the pre- APPMP launching test based. For the post-APPMP launching test, pain knowledge score, and attitude score were measured immediately after educating the participants, while the nursing practice score was measured 6 months later. The descriptive statistics and paired t-test were analyzed. Statistical significance was set at p 0.001. Results: The nurses’ pain knowledge score increased significantly from 36.3-64.8%, together with the practice score from 20-32.2% (p 0.001). The nurses’ pain attitude scores were 82.4% in the pre-test, and 84.2% post-test. The patients’ satisfaction for the 24 hour post-operation pain management was 4.2+/- 0.73, on a 5-point Likert scale. Conclusion: The APPMP was effective in improving nurses’ pain knowledge and practice. Although changing nurses’ behavior in controlling patients’ pain is possibly time consuming, however, education and a consultation system are still necessary.