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

Abstract

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.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.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.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.