Abstract:
Labor and delivery nurses need to be knowledgeable about current pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods for labor pain management (Florence & Palmer, 2003). Nurses provide information to laboring women to assist patients to make informed decisions on a method of pain control during labor. Pharmacologic methods include narcotic analgesia, local anesthetics, and epidural analgesia Non-pharmacologic methods include acupuncture and hydrotherapy. The purpose of this descriptive study is to determine the knowledge level of labor and delivery nurses about pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic pain management methods for labor and delivery. The theoretical framework is the Neuromatrix Theory of Pain (Melzack). The sample will include 100 labor and delivery nurses in five mid-size hospitals in the Midwestern United States. A questionnaire addressing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic methods of labor pain management will be used for data collection. Findings will indicate the knowledge base that labor and delivery nurses have about pain management during labor and provide a foundation for staff development about pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic pain management methods for labor and delivery.