Final Year Nursing Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes regarding Children’s Pain

Table 3

Bottom 10 areas of pediatric pain knowledge and attitudes (n = 100).

Question (answer)	% incorrect
(1) Which of the following drugs are potentially useful for treatment of children’s cancer pain? (all of the above)	98
(2) A postoperative 15-year-old boy who consistently report of moderate-to-severe pain despite smiling with his visitor has been prescribed “morphine IV 1–3 mg q1h PRN pain relief.” The appropriate action for the nurse to take at this time is to: (administer morphine 3 mg IV now)	92
(3) The likelihood of narcotic addiction in a child whose pain is being treated with opioid analgesics is: (<1%)	92
(4) A postoperative 15-year-old boy who consistently report of moderate-to-severe pain and grimaces upon turning in bed has been prescribed “morphine IV 1–3 mg q1h PRN pain relief.” The appropriate action for the nurse to take at this time is to: (administer morphine 3 mg IV now)	81
(5) Nondrug interventions are very effective for mild-moderate pain control but are rarely helpful for more severe pain (false)	81
(6) Observable changes in vital signs must be relied upon to verify a child’s statement that he or she has severe pain (false)	81
(7) Your pain assessment of a postoperative 15-year-old boy who self-reports his pain as 8 despite smiling with his visitor should be: (8)	79
(8) The percentage of patients who over-report pain is: (0 or 10%)	77
(9) Anxiolytics, sedatives, and barbiturates are appropriate medications for the relief of pain during painful procedures (false)	72
(10) Giving children sterile water by injection (placebo) is often a useful test to determine if the pain is real (false)	72

Note: IV: intravenous, mg: milligram, q1h: hourly, and PRN: when necessary.