Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2020 Jul 30;12(1):e1-e6. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2306.
Pain is the most common presenting complaint in patients visiting a healthcare facility. Healthcare professionals need adequate knowledge of pain to be able to manage it effectively.
The aim of this study was to determine the pain knowledge and attitudes of the 2018 final-year medical students at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
This study was conducted by the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences, UCT, South Africa, with final-year medical students.
Unruh's Modified Pain Knowledge and Attitudes (MPKA) questionnaire was utilised to collect data in a cross-sectional survey using an Internet-based electronic format.
A total of 104 students out of 232 students in the class (44.8%) participated in the study. The total median score on the MPKA questionnaire was 46 (interquartile range [IQR] 44-50.5) out of 57, or 80.7% (IQR 77.2-88.6%). The participants performed worst in the section on the pharmacological management of pain with median scores of 6 (IQR 4-8) (55%) correct out of 11 questions.
Pain knowledge, especially with regard to the pharmacological aspects of pain management, has some important deficiencies in these final-year medical students. It appears that the undergraduate curriculum and teaching thereof would benefit from a review of the pain curriculum.
疼痛是患者就诊于医疗机构时最常见的主诉。医疗保健专业人员需要充分了解疼痛，以便能够有效地进行管理。
本研究旨在确定开普敦大学（UCT）2018 年医学专业最后一年学生的疼痛知识和态度。
这项研究由南非开普敦大学健康科学学院麻醉学与围手术期医学系进行，研究对象为医学专业最后一年的学生。
采用 Unruh 改良疼痛知识和态度（MPKA）问卷，通过基于互联网的电子格式进行横断面调查收集数据。
共有 232 名学生中的 104 名（44.8%）参加了研究。MPKA 问卷的总中位数得分为 46 分（四分位距 [IQR] 44-50.5），得分为 57 分，或 80.7%（IQR 77.2-88.6%）。参与者在疼痛的药物治疗管理部分表现最差，11 个问题中正确回答中位数为 6 分（IQR 4-8）（55%）。
这些医学专业最后一年的学生在疼痛知识方面，尤其是在疼痛管理的药物方面，存在一些重要的不足。看来本科课程及其教学需要对疼痛课程进行审查。
