Surgical Nurses' Pain Management Self-Efficacy and Patients' Postoperative Pain Outcomes

N/ANot Yet RecruitingNCT07830498

Volkan Gokmen340 enrolled

Overview

This study examines whether surgical nurses' confidence in managing patients' pain (pain management self-efficacy) is related to how well their patients' pain is managed after surgery. Nurses working in general surgery clinics will complete a questionnaire about their own pain management self-efficacy, and the surgical patients under their care will complete a separate questionnaire about their postoperative pain outcomes. Each patient's responses will be linked to the nurse who cared for them, creating nurse-patient pairs, in order to explore how nurse-level factors relate to patient-level pain outcomes. This is an observational study: no treatment, medication, or intervention is provided or tested; participants only complete questionnaires.

Background: Postoperative pain continues to be inadequately managed in many surgical settings, and nurses play a central role in pain assessment and management. Nurses' pain management self-efficacy, defined as their confidence in their own ability to assess and manage patients' pain effectively, may influence the quality of pain care patients receive. Few studies have directly linked nurse-level self-efficacy to patient-level pain outcomes using a dyadic (nurse-patient paired) design. Aim: This descriptive, analytic, cross-sectional nurse-patient dyad study aims to examine the relationship between surgical nurses' pain management self-efficacy and their postoperative patients' pain management outcomes. Design and Methods: Nurses working in the general surgery clinics of two training and research hospitals (Agri Training and Research Hospital and Taksim Training and Research Hospital, Turkey) will be invited to participate. Each participating nurse will complete the Pain Management Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PMSEQ). Postoperative surgical patients cared for by these nurses will complete the Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R), together with a sociodemographic and clinical data form. Patient responses will be linked to their assigned nurse to form nurse-patient dyads. Because patients are clustered within nurses, multilevel (mixed-effects) statistical modeling will be used to account for the nested data structure and to examine associations between nurse-level self-efficacy and patient-level pain outcomes, while controlling for relevant patient and nurse characteristics. This is an observational, non-interventional study; no experimental treatment, medication, device, or randomization is involved. All participants (nurses and patients) will provide informed consent, and the study will be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Study Type

Interventions

Pain Management Self-Efficacy and Postoperative Pain Outcome AssessmentOTHER

No therapeutic, experimental, or clinical intervention was administered; this is a purely observational, questionnaire-based study. Nurses' pain management self-efficacy was assessed once using the Pain Management Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PMSEQ, Turkish version). Patients' postoperative pain outcomes were assessed once, within the first 24 postoperative hours, using the Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire, Turkish version (APS-POQ-R-TR). Usual clinical care and pain management practices were not modified in any way.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: Surgical Nurses: * Currently employed as a registered nurse * Working in the general surgery clinic where the study is conducted * Actively involved in postoperative patient care * Employed in the relevant clinic for at least 3 months * Voluntarily agrees to participate in the study Surgical Patients: * 18 years of age or older * Has undergone a surgical procedure * Receiving postoperative care in the general surgery clinic where the study is conducted * Within the first 24 postoperative hours * Able to communicate in Turkish * Conscious and cognitively able to answer study questions * Voluntarily agrees to participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: Surgical Nurses: * On extended leave or medical report during the data collection period, resulting in no active clinical care * Does not complete the data collection form during the study period Surgical Patients: * Followed in the intensive care unit * Impaired consciousness that prevents assessment * Serious cognitive or communication impairment that prevents communication * Underwent emergency surgery * Unable to complete the study data collection forms

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Postoperative Pain Outcomes (Patients)

Patient-reported postoperative pain outcomes measured with the Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R), including pain severity/intensity, pain interference with activity and sleep, and satisfaction with pain management. Each domain is rated on a 0-10 numeric rating scale; higher scores indicate worse outcomes for the pain severity/intensity and interference-with-activity/sleep domains, and higher scores indicate better outcomes (greater satisfaction) for the satisfaction-with-pain-management domain.

Time frame: Within 24-48 hours after surgery, prior to hospital discharge

Secondary Outcomes

Nurses' Pain Management Self-Efficacy

Nurses' pain management self-efficacy measured with the Pain Management Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PMSEQ), reflecting nurses' confidence in their ability to assess, plan, and implement effective postoperative pain management for their patients. The PMSEQ comprises 21 items rated on a 6-point scale (0 = not confident at all to 5 = completely confident), yielding a total score range of 0-105; higher scores indicate greater pain management self-efficacy (a better outcome).

Time frame: Measured once, at the time of study enrollment