Noura H. Aladwani¹, Dr. Mahdi Hussain², Dr. Bander Albagawi^3,

Pain is an unpleasant and highly uncomfortable experience patients can have. It causes stress, decreased quality of life and alterations in the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of a patient’s well-being. Deficient knowledge toward pain management hinders effective pain management among nurses and future nurses such as nursing students.This research aims to explore on the essential concepts on pain management cognition among nursing students on pain management. The research employed a descriptive, exploratory design using semantic network analysis and artificial neural network approach. Data were obtained using the knowledge and attitudes survey regarding pain (KASRP) tool. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to interpret data. Findings revealed that the concepts of pain, analgesia, assessment and patient were important concepts related to the knowledge on pain management among nursing students in Kuwait. Further, their current study status, work experience and exposure to pain management books were crucial in their education regarding pain management. Pain management should be integrated and comprehensively discussed in the undergraduate nursing program to enhance the knowledge on pain management of the future nurses.

pain, pain management, nursing students, semantic analysis, artificial neural network