Development and evaluation of a web-based acute pain management education program for Korean registered nurses: A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to develop a web-based acute pain management education program for nurses and to evaluate its effectiveness. The developed program consisted of a total duration of 400\u202fmin with eight modules and 29 topics in pain management. Fifty nurses from the post-anesthesia care unit in two university-affiliated hospitals in Seoul, Korea were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n\u202f=\u202f25) or the control group (n\u202f=\u202f25) and a total of 46 nurses, 23 for each group, completed the pre and post-tests. The pre and post-tests were performed to evaluate the changes of the nurses knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy regarding acute pain management. The experimental group showed a significant increase in knowledge and in self-efficacy about pain management compared to the control group (u\u202f=\u202f389.0, p\u202f=\u202f.006; u\u202f=\u202f360.0, p\u202f=\u202f.030, respectively). The results support the effective use of these web-based modules as part of a continuing education program on pain management for nurses working in an acute care setting. The findings of this study can be the basis for the development of evidence-based guidelines and training tailored to the Korean culture and similar settings.