Exploring post-operative pain management practices for improved outcomes among nurses in public hospitals in West Shewa, Ethiopia: a multicenter observational study

Background: Effective postoperative pain (POP) management is crucial to enhance satisfaction and recovery. Nurses play a significant role in providing effective pain management, making it crucial to assess their practices. However, most prior research in Ethiopia relied on self-administered tools to evaluate nurses' POP management, potentially introducing bias. This observational study addressed this gap by exploring POP management practices and associated factors among nurses in public hospitals in the West Shewa zone. Method and materials: A facility-based cross-sectional study incorporating both self-reported and observed quantitative measures was conducted among 377 randomly selected nurses in public hospitals in the West Shewa zone, Ethiopia, from June 1 to August 30, 2020. Data were collected using a standardized interviewer-administered questionnaire and an observational checklist. Non-participant observation was done three times by trained BSc degree nurses. Data quality was ensured, and analysis was done using SPSS version 26. The logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors independently associated with nurses' POP management practice. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was estimated to measure the strength of the association. The level of statistical significance was set at a p value