Impact of a Designed Head Trauma Nursing Management Protocol on Critical Care Nurses' Knowledge and Practices at Emergency Hospital Mansoura University

Abstract

Background: Literature review cited that, Traumatic head injury (THI) is one of the major causes of disability, death and health related costs. The primary goal of nursing management in traumatic head injury is to maintain adequate cerebral tissue perfusion. Nursing and medical management are overlapped, with the special focus on nurses' knowledge and practices. Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses are responsible for the continuous monitoring and maintenance of physiological, psychosocial, injury prevention, and therapeutic environment values associated with THI. Thereby, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of a designed head trauma nursing management protocol on critical care nurses' knowledge and practices at Emergency University Hospital. Material and methods a quasi experimental (pre/post-test design) research design was utilized. The study was conducted on convenience sample of 50 nurses who provide direct care for traumatic head injury patients at ICUs at Emergency Hospital Mansoura University. Data were obtained using two main tools; head trauma care knowledge assessment questionnaire with the socio-demographic data sheet, and head trauma care practice observational checklists. The instructional protocol was designed based on an extensive revision of the related, recent literature. The protocol was delivered throughout ten weeks. Each week involved three sessions. Every session lasts about forty to sixty minutes. Nurses were divided into 10 groups, 5 nurses each. Results revealed that the mean knowledge and practice scores of nurses are increased immediately after implementation of the protocol with a significant statistical difference. This increased level slightly decreased following two months of protocol implementation. Also, a positive correlation was found between knowledge and practice scores of the study subjects. Therefore, the two stated research hypothesis were supported Conclusion intensive care unit nurses were lacking some knowledge and practices regarding head trauma management. The simple educational handout, demontrations and the designed protocol showed a positive impact in improving nurse's knowledge and practices. The study recommended that establishing a written updated head trauma nursing management protocol to ensure enough knowledge and safe nursing practice. Moreover, Periodical evaluation should be conducted by the nurse educator to ensure that the standards of knowledge & practices regarding head trauma nursing management are maintained. (Amina M. A. Seliman; Warda Y.M. Morsy; Mohamed A. A. Sultan; Karima F.S. Elshamy; and Hanaa H.E Ahmed. Impact of a Designed Head Trauma Nursing Management Protocol on Critical Care Nurses' Knowledge and Practices at Emergency Hospital Mansoura University. J Am Sci 2014;10(12s):13-25). (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org . 2