Effect of an educational program on pediatric nurses' knowledge, practice, and self-confidence about level of consciousness scales

Abstract

BackgroundNurses of pediatric acute critical care units routinely assess the Level of Consciousness (LOC). The precise, exact, and restriction-free evaluation tool aids pediatric nurses in LOC assessment and clinical decision-making. This study aimed to examine the effect of an educational program on pediatric nurses' knowledge, practice, and self-confidence about level of consciousness scales. MethodsThis pretest-post, single-group, quasi-experimental, double-site study included 49 pediatric nurses. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)/Pediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (PGCS) and Pediatric Full Outline of UnResponsiveness Score Scale (PFSS) knowledge questionnaire and pediatric nurse practice checklist were developed and adopted. Self-reflection confidence statements were rated 1–5 (not confident–confident). ResultsThe results of the study indicate that there were significant increases in knowledge, practice, and self-confidence after the intervention. The paired samples tests revealed that knowledge scores significantly increased from the pretest to the posttest for both GCS/PGCS (pretest mean:7.91, posttest mean:9.95) and PFSS (pretest mean:2.1, posttest mean:6.79). Practice scores also showed significant improvement for both GCS/PGCS (pretest mean: 4.12, post-test mean: 6.22) and PFSS (pretest mean: 2.46, post-test mean: 5.79). Furthermore, self-confidence significantly improved for GCS/PGCS (pretest mean:16.08, posttest mean:18.79) and PFSS (pretest mean:10.32, posttest mean:17.81). The statistical analyses supported the significance of these improvements (p < 0.001 for all except self-confidence in GCS/PGCS with p < 0.005). ConclusionThe educational program improved pediatric nurses' GCS/PGCS and PFSS knowledge, practice, and self-confidence. Implications to practiceEffective teaching of pediatric nurses is required to address gaps in care practices and improve the use of the Consciousness Level Assessment Scales.