Knowledge Gaps in Pain Management Between Nurses and Nursing Assistants in a Tertiary Hospital in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Pain is a universal human experience and a persistent challenge for health services. Its assessment and management require evidence-based competencies to ensure safe, person-centered care. In most health systems, patients with pain are cared for by both nursing professionals and nursing assistants depending on staff allocation, with assistants performing some delegated interventions. Previous studies have identified knowledge gaps among nursing personnel that may affect the quality of care. PURPOSE: compare the level of knowledge between nursing professionals and nursing assistants regarding pain assessment and pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management. DESIGN: An analytical cross-sectional study with non-probability sampling was conducted. METHOD: A total of 164 participants were included: 64 nursing professionals and 100 nursing assistants. Two self-report instruments were administered in physical format: the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) and the Questionnaire Based on Recommendations for Good Practices (CVMD-BE). Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test, the chi-square test (χ²), the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test according to the nature of the variables. RESULTS: Nursing assistants represented 61% of the sample. Nursing professionals obtained higher scores than nursing assistants on the CVMD-BE questionnaire (p = .01). In the KASRP questionnaire, professionals also showed higher scores, approaching statistical significance (p = .059). CONCLUSIONS: Nursing professionals achieved higher scores on both instruments, possibly related to differences in academic training that include theoretical and practical competencies in pain assessment and management. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: the findings of this study have significant implications for nursing practice, highlighting the need to strengthen the competencies of the staff responsible for pain assessment and management.