A National Survey of the Prevalence of Chronic Pain in Nursing Students and the Associated Factors

OBJECTIVE. To examine the prevalence of chronic pain and the associated factors among nursing students. METHODS. This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional. The subjects were 1684 nursing students who were selected from the universities of medical sciences in Iran via cluster sampling in 2019. Data were collected using a three-part questionnaire: a demographic characteristics survey, characteristics of chronic pain, and a pain scale. RESULTS. The majority of the students were female (62.1%) and single (87%).The mean age of the participants was 22.4±2.96 years. The results of data analysis showed that 30.2% of the students suffered from chronic pain. The areas which were most affected by pain were: head (31.24%), abdomen (11.98%), and the back (9.23%). 56.4% of the nursing students declared the origin of their pain to be unknown, 22.7% attributed their pain to migraine, and 6.48% reported spinal disorders to be the cause of their pain. There was a significant relationship between the students’ chronic pain and the variables of age (higher in the 29-and-above age group), marital status (higher in married subjects), and education (higher in postgraduates). CONCLUSION. A relatively large number of nursing students suffer from chronic pains. Nursing schools should contribute to improving students' knowledge of chronic pain prevention and management.