Risks associated with the use of morphine for analgesia: attitudes and perceptions amongst nursing students in French-speaking Switzerland

Henk Verloo,1 Christine Cohen,1 Corinne Borloz,1 Emmanuel K Mpinga,2,3 Philippe Chastonay3,41University of Applied Sciences, Nursing, La Source, Lausanne, Switzerland; 2Swiss School of Public Health Plus, Zurich, Switzerland; 3Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, 4Unit of Development and Research in Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandAims: This paper reports on the attitudes and perceptions of risks associated with the use of morphine for analgesia among nursing students and explores the relationship between those attitudes and perceptions and sociodemographic data.Background: Attitudes and perception of risks regarding the use of morphine for analgesia amongst nurses remain problematic, thus potentially leading to important consequences regarding the quality of pain management.Methods: A cross-sectional survey among 557 nursing-students enrolled in the 3-year bachelor program was conducted in the French-speaking part of Switzerland from May to December 2010. The instrument's validity and internal reliability were tested before use. Twenty-two items evaluated attitudes and perception of risks when using morphine.Results: Attitudes and perception of risks regarding the use of morphine for analgesia are evolving significantly during the 3 years of education. Sociodemographic data have little influence, if any, on attitudes and perception of risks.Conclusion: The positive evolution of attitudes over the years of training pleads for the crucial role played by education regarding development of competency in pain management and nursing care.Keywords: morphinophobia, attitudes, risk perception, nursing students, myths of morphine, theory of reasoned action