Effectiveness of an Educational Program on Nurses’ Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nursing Care for Critically – Ill Patients at Critical Care Units in Misan Governorate Hospitals

Abstract

Background: Nursing care for critically ill patients includes the implementation of basic care tasks intended

to enable patients to perform daily life activities. Critical care nursing provide specialized care to patients

experiencing a life threatening or potentially life threatening illness. This care is complex, intensive and

continuous.

Objective: The study aim to evaluate the nurses’ knowledge and practices concerning nursing care for

critically – ill patients at critical care units, and to construction of educational program.

Methodology: A quasi experimental design has been carried out in intensive care unit at Shaheed Al -

Sadder teaching hospital and Al Zahrawi surgical hospital started from the 26th of June 2018 to the 30th of

October 2019. Select purposive sample comprised of 60 nurses is divided into two groups equally, study

group were exposed to the nursing educational program, and control group.

Results: The study reveal that the majority of nurses had moderate level knowledge and practices in pre test

towards nursing care for critically- ill patients for both groups (study and control), total mean are with regard

to knowledge (mean of study group = 0.45 and control group) = 0.42), and in practice (mean of study = 1.86

and control = 1.85). while for post-test presented improve in study group were (mean of the study = 0.83

and control = 0.42) with regard to knowledge, (Study mean = 2.62 and control group = 1.84) for practices.