Factors affecting nurse's pain management for patients with dementia

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing nurses' pain management in patients with dementia. A total of 197 nurses were recruited from 30 long-term care hospitals in B city. Data were collected from June 25 to July 15, 2016. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 22.0 program, which included a t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe test, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analyses. The levels of knowledge were low with a score of 10.73 out of 18. The level of attitudes, self-efficacy, barriers and performance were 2.98, 3.34, 2.90, and 4.09, respectively. In addition, there were significant differences in the level of performance depending on the age (p=.046), long-term care (p=.009), and pain education (p=.004). The level of attitudes (r=.21, p=.006), self-efficacy (r=.51, p<.001) and performance were positively correlated with each other. A significant negative correlation was observed between the barriers and performance (r=-.16, p=.035). The meaningful variables that influence the performance were self-efficacy, long-term care, and pain education. These factors were responsible for 30.1%. Therefore, effective programs will be necessary to enhance pain management by improving the self-efficacy and knowledge of pain in dementia patients.