Nurse Attitude-Related Barriers to Effective Control of Cancer Pain among Iranian Nurses

• Published in: Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 2141 - 2144
• Main Authors: Sadeghy, Adel, Mohamadian, Robab, Rahmani, Azad, Fizollah-zadeh, Hussein, Jabarzadeh, Franak, Azadi, Arman, Rostami, Hussein
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: cancer pain; pain; barriers; Iran; nurses; Cancer; attitude
• ISSN: 1513-7368; 2476-762X

Background: Many cancer patients still experience pain worldwide. There are many barriers for effective control of cancer pain and many of these are related to health care providers. There is a need for further investigation of these barriers. The aim of this study was to investigate nurse-related barriers to control of cancer pain among Iranian nurses. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study 49 nurses from two hospitals affiliated to Tabriz and Ardebil Universities of Medical Sciences participated using a census sampling method. A demographic and profession related checklist and Barriers Questionnaire II (BQ-II) were used for data collection. Results: The results showed negative attitudes of participants regarding control of cancer pain. Participants believed that cancer pain medications do not manage cancer pain at acceptable levels; patients may become addicted by using these drugs; cancer pain medications have many uncontrollable effects; and controlling cancer pain may distract the physicians from treating disease. Conclusions: Iranian nurses have negative attitudes toward pain control in cancer patients especially about effectiveness of pain medication and their side effects. Educational intervention to reduce these misconceptions is needed.