Abstract
Effective pain management is crucial in nursing and medical care, requiring nurses to understand concepts, acquire knowledge, and develop skills for accurate pain assessment and treatment. Nurses must provide support and employ both pharmacological and nonpharmacological pain management approaches by using a systemic process with a valid and reliable scale for accurate pain assessment, while also assessing the efficacy of the management. This scoping review aimed to identify gaps in nursing literature regarding nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward pain management and utilization of pain assessment scales. A systemic search of PubMed, EBSCO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar was conducted to gather relevant literature. A total of 101 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, with 26 meeting the criteria for inclusion in the scoping review. The review found that nurses lacked sufficient knowledge and attitudes toward pain management and assessment tools. Additionally, it is recommended that staff nurses and students participate in regular in-service training, workshops, and seminars. Educational and quality-improvement programs could enhance their knowledge, attitude, and expertise in pain management.