Evaluating resident physicians knowledge, attitude and practice regarding pain control in patients suffering from cancer

Background: Pain is one of the most debilitating symptoms of cancer. We conducted the current study to assess residents knowledge, attitude and practice regarding pain control in patients suffering from cancer. Materials & Methods: 69 randomly chosen third-year residents of various specialties practicing in teaching hospitals of Shahid Beheshti School of medicine participated in this study. They provided their demographic characteristics and completed a questionnaire on their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding cancer pain and its management. Data analysis was performed using SPSS v.19. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant.Results: Data obtained from 69 participants including 32 anesthesiology residents was included in our study. The average scores were 35.8±6.1 (ranging from 20 to 49) for the residents attitude, 25.1±9.1 (ranging from 0 to 53) for their knowledge and 11.2±4.1 (ranging from 0 to 17) for their practice. The overall scores of the questions related to attitude and knowledge were higher for residents of anesthesiology but the difference was not statistically significant (A: 37.1±4.9 vs. 34.7±6.8, p=0.106, K: 27.2±11.8 vs. 23.3±5.6, p=0.076). The average score for questions on physician practice was significantly higher in residents of anesthesiology (P: 12.8±3.2 vs. 9.7±4.2, p=0.001).Conclusion: In order to provide patients with adequate pain relief, it seems advisable for medical schools to focus on improving the educational curriculum and integrating it into clinical practice.

Keywords:

Attitudes , knowledge , Practice , Cancer pain control