Volume 86, December 2025, 152022Author links open overlay panel, , Highlights•

Pain in sedated ICU patients is a relatively underexplored but vital care area.

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Nurses show above-average knowledge yet a gap remains in clinical application.

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Education and institutional support can improve evidence-based pain management.

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Self-reported measures revealed perceived rather than observed practices, highlighting contextual and environmental barriers.

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Researcher-developed instruments demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity aligned with ICU pain management standards.

AbstractAim

This study aimed to evaluate intensive care nurses' knowledge and evidence-based practices regarding pain management in sedated patients and to identify influencing factors.

Background

Pain management is a critical component of nursing care in intensive care units, yet managing pain in sedated patients remains complex and requires specialized competencies. To date, no study has specifically examined ICU nurses' knowledge and practices related to pain management in this population, nor the factors influencing them.

Methods

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 218 ICU nurses using standardized self-report instruments. Data were collected using the “Descriptive Information Form,” the “Pain Management Knowledge Test in Sedated Patients,” and the “Evidence-based Practices Test for Pain Management in Sedated Patients.”

Results

The mean knowledge score was 26.48 ± 7.01 (range: 0–35), significantly differing by education and professional background (p < 0.05). The mean evidence-based practice score was 27.47 ± 6.74 (range: 13–39), with no significant demographic differences. Although nurses' knowledge varied according to education and experience, their practices were similar across groups.

Conclusion

Given that sedated ICU patients often receive end-of-life care, improving nurses' pain management competencies may directly enhance palliative outcomes. İnstitutional protocols and ongoing training programs are recommended.

Section snippetsBackground and significance

Effective pain management remains a fundamental component of high-quality nursing care in intensive care units (ICUs). Despite advancements in patient monitoring and therapeutic interventions, evidence indicates that 30–70 % of ICU patients continue to experience varying levels of pain during their stay (Almutairi et al., 2022; Nazari et al., 2018). The etiology of pain in this population is multifactorial, encompassing underlying illnesses, invasive procedures, prolonged immobility, mechanical

Study design and participants

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between March and December 2021 among 218 ICU nurses recruited via snowball sampling from public and private hospitals in xx. Inclusion criteria encompassed age over 18, active ICU employment, completion of orientation programs, and voluntary participation with internet access.

Data collection

Data were collected online via snowball sampling using Google Forms. The instruments included a personal information form, the Pain Management Knowledge Test in Sedated

Participant characteristics

The final sample included 218 nurses actively working in adult intensive care units. All responses were complete and included in the analysis. The mean age of the participants was 28.70 ± 5.27 years. As shown in Table 1, the majority of participants were female (70.2 %) and held a bachelor's degree (61.5 %). Most had between 1 and 5 years of professional experience (45 %). While 34.4 % of participants had certification in intensive care, 78.4 % reported that they assessed pain in sedated

Discussion

Pain management in sedated and ventilated ICU patients remains a multifaceted challenge, requiring both theoretical knowledge and clinical competence. In this study, nurses demonstrated above-average levels of knowledge and practice in pain management, suggesting general awareness and engagement with pain assessment in sedated patients. This is consistent with previous findings that emphasize the crucial role of nursing staff in managing pain under complex conditions in ICUs (Alnajar et al.,

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that ICU nurses have above-average knowledge regarding pain management in sedated patients. Higher knowledge levels were associated with postgraduate education, certification in intensive care nursing, and over one year of clinical experience. These results suggest that both formal education and clinical experience contribute positively to the development of theoretical knowledge in this area.

Similarly, the overall level of evidence-based pain management practices among

Financial support and sponsorship

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Ethics committee approval

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Hamidiye Scientific Research Ethics Committee, University of Health Sciences, Turkey (Approval No: 23727, Date: 31 March 2021), and the study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Nurdan Yalçın Atar: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Supervision, Investigation, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Semra Açıksöz: Writing – review & editing, Conceptualization. Öznur Tuğba Çelebi Dursun: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Resources, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization.

Consent for publication

No identifiable personal data were included in this study; therefore, explicit consent for publication was not required.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

In accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), this study was conducted with the approval of the University of Health Sciences Ethics Committee (Aproval No: 21/248) and in compliance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants were informed about the purpose and procedures of the study, and written informed consent was obtained prior to data collection.

Source of funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgement

The authors thank all the nurses who voluntarily participated in this study. We would like to thank all the individuals and units who agreed to participate in this study.

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K.M. Hamdan et al.Barriers and enablers of intensive care unit nurses’ assessment and management of patients’ pain

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(2022)

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