ASSESSMENTOFNURSESKNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDE,PRACTICEANDPERCEIVEDB ARRIERSTOWARDSCANCERPAINMANAGEMENTATKAPSABETCOUNTYREFER RALHOSPITAL,NANDICOUNTY

Abstract

Painishighlyprevalentamongpatientswithcancer,especiallythosewithadvancedormetastatic cancer.Adequatepainassessmentandmanagementisessentialtoimprovetheirqualityoflife,em otionalwellbeing,relationships,andhealthoutcomes.Althoughseveralguidelinesandpharmacologicalopt ionsareavailableforcancerpainmanagement(CPM),assessmentandtreatmentofcancerpainre viii | P a g e maininadequateglobally,particularlyindevelopingcountries.Lackofknowledgeandnegative attitudestowardsCPMamonghealthcareprofessionals(HCPs)areimportantbarrierstoCPM.C ancerpaincanresultfromthediseaseitself,metastasesassociatedwithatumor,ornervedamage, whichmightbecausedbycancertreatments.Painassociatedwithcancernegativelyaffectspatie nts’andtheircaregivers’qualityoflife.Previousstudiesshowsthatcancerpainisunrelievedinma nycasesduetolimitedaccessorlegalrestrictionstoopioidsandrejectionoftheusesofopioidsbyH CPswhileotherstudiesshowedthatcancerpatientswereexperiencingunrelievedcancerpain,alt houghtheyhadincreasinglybeenprescribedopioidsfortheirpain.Accurateknowledgeandgood painevaluationanddocumentationpracticesshouldbepresentforefficientcancerpainmanage ment. ObjectiveToassesnurses’knowledge,attitude,practiceandperceivedbarrierstowardscancerp ainmanagementatKapsabetCountyReferralHospital,NandiCounty. Designthiswasadescriptivecrossectionalstudy. StudyareathestudywasconductedatKapsabetCountyReferralHospital. Subjects’nurseswhowerenotclinicallyactiveatworkatthetimeofdatacollection. Samplingmethodconveniencesamplingmethodwasused. Datacollectioninstrumentsself-administeredquestionnaireswasusedfordatacollection