Nurses' Knowledge and Barriers Regarding Pain Management.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify Polish nurses' experiences and perceptions about the barriers to postoperative pain management in older adults.

DESIGN: The study was conducted using a dedicated questionnaire.

METHODS: Eleven hospitals participated in this study. The project involved 1,602 nurses working on surgical hospital wards. A descriptive exploratory survey and a qualitative content analysis were used.

FINDINGS: Access to journals on evidence-based practice related to pain assessment and management in elderly patients was assessed as less important by the respondents. Knowledge drawn from the media and scientific and medical journals was assessed by the respondents as unsatisfactory. The greatest barrier to nurses was that scientific articles are published in English.

CONCLUSIONS: Nurses' awareness of evidence-based practice increases with their education. Among the key problems is the lack of available professional publications in the Polish literature, ignorance of English, shortage of time, and lack of support from chief physicians of the ward.