Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41818191›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Association between nurses' knowledge and attitudes and caring behaviors toward people with opioid use disorder.

Inyene Edem Essien-Aleksi, Yuan Zhang, Don Roosan, Tracie McPadden, Leslie Rideout, Michael Martin, Paula-Jo Beniers, Amy Lund, Danielle Leone-Sheehan, Alysse Wurcel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Inyene Edem Essien-AleksiSchool of Nursing and Health Sciences, Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0943-9952
Yuan ZhangSolomont School of Nursing, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Don RoosanSchool of Engineering and Computational Science, Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Tracie McPaddenLowel General Hospital, Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Leslie RideoutTufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Michael MartinTufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9157-3083
Paula-Jo BeniersTufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7600-2275
Amy LundTufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Danielle Leone-SheehanNortheastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Alysse WurcelBoston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHospital nurses are crucial in inpatient OUD care, but knowledge gaps and negative attitudes may affect care quality. Few studies have examined the relationship between nurses' knowledge and attitudes and their caring behaviors toward patients with OUD in hospital settings.

methodWe conducted a descriptive, exploratory cross-sectional study among hospital nurses at two northeast U.S hospitals. To explore nurses' perspectives, we used validated instruments to assess knowledge and attitudes [DDPPQ] and caring behaviors [CBI-6]. DDPPQ and CBI-6 scores were treated as ordinal composite measures and summarized using medians and interquartile ranges. Group differences were examined across demographic and work-related factors using Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Associations between DDPPQ and CBI-6 scores were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation with bootstrapped confidence intervals. Median (quantile) regression (τ = 0.50) was used to assess adjusted associations.

resultsA total of 125 nurses completed the survey. Most nurses were female (94%), white (82%), and employed full-time (87%). Higher DDPPQ scores, indicating lower knowledge and more negative attitudes, differed by years of experience and hospital site. CBI-6 scores varied by shift type, with permanent night-shift nurses reporting the highest median caring behaviors. Higher DDPPQ scores were significantly associated with lower caring behaviors (ρ = -0.42; 95% CI: -0.52 to -0.30; p < 0.0001). Even after adjusting for shift type, years of experience, and hospital site, higher DDPPQ score remained significantly associated with lower CBI-6 score (β = -0.11; 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.06).

conclusionHospital nurses with lower knowledge and more negative attitudes reported lower caring behaviors toward patients with OUD. These findings identify knowledge and attitudes as potential modifiable factors in inpatient OUD care and support future research to clarify causal pathways and explore the potential of educational and empathy-based strategies to improve OUD care.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelEmpathyHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeNursesNursing Staff, HospitalOpioid-Related DisordersAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNurse-Patient RelationsSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID41818191
PMCPMC12981468

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.