Nurse’s Knowledge, Confidence and Performance on Care for Delirium

Abstract

Objectives This study was conducted to investigate the correlation among nurses’ knowledge, their self-confidence about care for delirium and nursing performance for patients with delirium. Methods The study subjects are the 203 nurses working at general hospitals. The data were collected using the instruments for knowledge of delirium (47 items), performance (23 items), and self-confidence (15 items). The used statistical analysis were t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Results Nursing performance level for patients with delirium was 2.85±0.47, knowledge of delirium nursing 32.15±4.36, and self-confidence in delirium nursing 52.00±17.05. The difference in performance were associated with number of caring experience with delirious patients (during for 1 year) (F=3.22, p=0.024), perceived importance (Caring delirious patient is an important nursing intervention) (F=5.85, p=0.003), necessity of education for delirium (F=5.58, p=0.004), and necessity of manuals for delirium care (t=2.11, p=0.036). The nursing performance for patients with delirium had positive relationship with knowledge of delirium (r=0.30, p=0.000) and self-confidence (r=0.35, p=0.000). Factors related to the nursing performance for patients with delirium were ‘self-confidence in nursing performance for patients with delirium’ (β=0.24, p=0.001), ‘knowledge of delirium’ (β=0.16, p=0.002), and ‘necessity of manuals for delirium care’ (β=0.16, p=0.014). These variables explained 18.5% of the variance in nursing performance for patients with delirium. Conclusions It is necessary to develop systematic educational program and manual for improving the knowledge, self-confidence and performance for patients with delirium among nurses working at general hospitals. Key words: Delirium, Nurse, Knowledge, Confidence, Performance