Download or read book Improving Providers' Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Management of Pain in Sickle Cell Disease Patients written by Betty E. Arkhurst and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder resulting in defective hemoglobin and is the most prevalent genetic condition in the United States. The most common complaint associated with the disease is pain and is the main reason why SCD patients seek care in emergency departments. Nevertheless, most healthcare providers have negative attitudes towards SCD patients and often stigmatize them as drug seekers and inadequately manage their pain. The purpose of this evidence-based project was improving the current pain management practices by improving providers' understanding and attitudes towards management of pain in SCD patients. The design for this project was pretest - posttest involving the provision of an educational intervention to improve pain management practices in SCD patients. The knowledge of the providers was determined using the Knowledge Sickle Cell Disease questionnaire, and their attitudes were measured using the General Perceptions about Sickle Cell Patient Scale, which is a validated scale for assessing providers' attitudes towards patients living with SCD. Following the implementation of the intervention, the knowledge scores of the participants improved by 44%. Scores on negative attitudes decreased by 36%, while positive attitudes increased by 23%. A total of 68 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and physician assistants took part in the project. Other healthcare settings can develop similar projects to improve providers' attitudes and knowledge regarding evidence-based pain management practices in SCD. Keywords: Sickle cell disease, pain undertreatment, evidence-based practice, knowledge, attitudes, health care providers, vaso-occlusive crises " -- Abstract