Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate
emergency nurses’ knowledge and attitudes about pain.
Methods: A descriptive design was used for this study. A
validated tool, the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding
Pain (KASRP), was administered to nurses working in 5 U.S.
emergency departments. Demographic data also were collected
from each participant.
Results: Ninety-one emergency nurses completed the survey.
The mean total KASRP score was 76%. No significant
differences were found in mean total scores by age, education
level, years of nursing experience, or years of ED experience.
Eight questions were answered incorrectly by more than 50% of
participants. Five of these questions were related to opioid
pharmacology and dosage, 2 concerned understanding of
addiction and dependence, and one was linked to nurse
assessment and patient report of pain level. Analysis of these 8
questions revealed that higher education levels had a weak
positive association with correct answers.
Discussion: Participants taking the survey scored comparably or
better than participants in other reported studies using the
KASRP. Years of nursing experience was not correlated with
correct responses. Findings from this study underscore the
Institute of Medicine’s Pain in America recommendation to
increase pain management education for all providers.
Key words: Pain; Pain management; Analgesics; Opioid; Nurse;
Emergency department