Abstract:
Background: Knowledge and practice of nurses towards pain management have been noted in
various studies around the World. Deficient knowledge and practice regarding pain management
among nurses remains a pervasive problem. For better management of pain in surgical wards,
nurses should have adequate knowledge of pain assessment and management.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to give a picture about knowledge and practice of
postoperative pain management among nurses working in Surgical Ward at Rwanda military
hospital and Kigali university teaching hospital this will facilitate innovation in pain
management and improving the levels of knowledge and practice in clinical area.
Methodology: This study used quantitative study approach with a descriptive correlation study
design. The study was guided by Knowledge-to-action framework. A sample of 131 nurses was
selected using convenience sampling. Data was collected using a validated self-administered
questionnaire with three sections namely the demographic data, level of knowledge and level of
practice regarding post-operative management. Descriptive statistics, the Pearson’s correlation
coefficient, linear regression and the Chi-square test were used to analyse the data. SPSS version
21.0 was used in data analysis.
Results: Forty-eight (37%) nurses had high score in knowledge about postoperative pain
management. Sixty-Seven (51%) had moderate levels of knowledge and 16 (12%) of nurses had
low knowledge regarding post-operative pain management. Twenty-six (20%) of nurses had high
level practice, 106 nurses (79%) had moderate level practice and only 2 (1%) of nurses had
lower level of practice on post-operative pain management. The correlation coefficient (0.379,
p<0.01) shows a weak positive correlation between knowledge and practice. The effect of
knowledge on practice was 14.4%.
Conclusion and recommendation: The level of knowledge and practice on post-operative
management was predominantly low among nurses. Therefore, this calls for the need to
implement in-service training on pain management for nurses working in the surgical units.
