The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management
The study is the first in its field to quantitatively explore the effects of e-learning to improve knowledge and attitudes towards pain management. Pain is a fundamental reason for patients seeking healthcare, yet in recent years it has been acknowledged that the importance of pain management is oft...
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| Format: | Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English English English English |
| Published: |
2011
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24785/ |
| _version_ | 1848792855133290496 |
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| author | Keefe, Gemma |
| author_facet | Keefe, Gemma |
| author_sort | Keefe, Gemma |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The study is the first in its field to quantitatively explore the effects of e-learning to improve knowledge and attitudes towards pain management. Pain is a fundamental reason for patients seeking healthcare, yet in recent years it has been acknowledged that the importance of pain management is often overlooked or misunderstood, with poor pain education frequently blamed. In fact, the extent of pain education is severely limited in current nursing curricula, primarily due to a lack of prioritisation of pain, but with a new consultation underway to add pain to the NHS Essence of Care Benchmarks, there may soon be little option but for nursing schools to implement improved and consistent education regarding pain management.
To address the issue there has been call for development of generic e-learning resources to teach pain management- its interactive nature appeals to nursing- being based online it can be used flexibly around shift patterns, and across multiple universities, addressing the well-acknowledged variation in pain standards across the country.
As a result, this study describes the development and evaluation of two Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) addressing pain education for an undergraduate nursing course. Student feedback positively evaluated the resources, reporting their interesting and engaging nature and supported recommendations to incorporate e-learning into nursing curricula.
In addition, quantitative data was collected using Ferrell and McCaffrey’s Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Pain Survey, measuring knowledge and attitudes towards assessment and treatment of pain. Undertaking the e-learning resource was shown to improve knowledge and attitudes by almost 20% (p<0.005), significantly indicating their ability to enhance pain education. In contrast to existing studies, there was also correlation found between cohort and knowledge scores, although undertaking the intervention contaminated this relationship, thus it can be suggested that introducing such educational resources earlier in nurse training has more substantial benefit.
As such, it can be recommended that the resource should be integrated into the nursing curriculum, focusing upon the assessment and pharmacological management of pain, enhancing knowledge and skills regarding pain management during the early stage of a nursing career. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:51:02Z |
| format | Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-24785 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English English English English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:51:02Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-247852022-03-21T16:09:06Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24785/ The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management Keefe, Gemma The study is the first in its field to quantitatively explore the effects of e-learning to improve knowledge and attitudes towards pain management. Pain is a fundamental reason for patients seeking healthcare, yet in recent years it has been acknowledged that the importance of pain management is often overlooked or misunderstood, with poor pain education frequently blamed. In fact, the extent of pain education is severely limited in current nursing curricula, primarily due to a lack of prioritisation of pain, but with a new consultation underway to add pain to the NHS Essence of Care Benchmarks, there may soon be little option but for nursing schools to implement improved and consistent education regarding pain management. To address the issue there has been call for development of generic e-learning resources to teach pain management- its interactive nature appeals to nursing- being based online it can be used flexibly around shift patterns, and across multiple universities, addressing the well-acknowledged variation in pain standards across the country. As a result, this study describes the development and evaluation of two Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) addressing pain education for an undergraduate nursing course. Student feedback positively evaluated the resources, reporting their interesting and engaging nature and supported recommendations to incorporate e-learning into nursing curricula. In addition, quantitative data was collected using Ferrell and McCaffrey’s Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Pain Survey, measuring knowledge and attitudes towards assessment and treatment of pain. Undertaking the e-learning resource was shown to improve knowledge and attitudes by almost 20% (p<0.005), significantly indicating their ability to enhance pain education. In contrast to existing studies, there was also correlation found between cohort and knowledge scores, although undertaking the intervention contaminated this relationship, thus it can be suggested that introducing such educational resources earlier in nurse training has more substantial benefit. As such, it can be recommended that the resource should be integrated into the nursing curriculum, focusing upon the assessment and pharmacological management of pain, enhancing knowledge and skills regarding pain management during the early stage of a nursing career. 2011 Dissertation (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed other en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24785/3/Appendix%203%20Pain%20Assessment%20RLO/Pain%20Assessment/data/playerproperties.xml application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24785/2/Appendix_2-_Original_Storyboards_for_RLOs.pdf application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24785/1/Dissertation.pdf other en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24785/4/Appendix%203%20Pain%20Treatment%20RLO/Pain%20Medicine/data/playerproperties.xml Keefe, Gemma (2011) The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished) |
| spellingShingle | Keefe, Gemma The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management |
| title | The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management |
| title_full | The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management |
| title_fullStr | The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management |
| title_full_unstemmed | The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management |
| title_short | The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management |
| title_sort | development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to enhance the education of pre-registration nursing students regarding knowledge and attitudes towards pain management |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/24785/ |