Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Emergency Physicians Towards Acute Pain Management

Background: Emergency departments are multi-disciplinary workplaces that comprise of professionals with different skills and abilities that allow them to manage pain and other patient conditions. Acute pain is an imaginable short term pain as witnessed in most emergency departments in different health facilities. The management of such pain requires specific knowledge on the levels of analgesics used in the management of specific pain. This study aimed to assess and document the current levels of Saudi emergency physicians with regard to acute pain management in the emergency department. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted lasting for 3 months. We collected data for the study from 127 emergency physicians distributed in 31 hospitals in 18 cities and 4 regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The data was collected using structured questionnaire and later recorded in an excel sheet for analysis. Results: The results disapprove the null hypothesis since the p value is more than .05 (p=0.091) thereby accepting the alternative hypothesis that the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Saudi Physicians regarding acute pain management in the emergency unit meet global standards. Conclusion: In summary, the study manages to attain its objectives by demonstrating that there are high levels of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding pain management in the emergency departments in KSA.