Effects of Educational Program on Maternity Nurses’ Knowledge and Practice Regarding Obstetric Triage

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Lecturer of woman Health and obstetrics Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Minia University, Egypt

2 Assistant Professor of Maternity & Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Assiut University, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: The triage nurse is typically the first person a patient encounters when seeking
care in the obstetric department. Nurses’ knowledge about triage is a key in triage decision-making.
Aim: identify the effect of educational program on maternity nurses’ knowledge and practice
regarding Maternal Fetal Triage Index (MFTI) as an obstetric triage scale. Methods: This study
employed a quasi-experimental research design. The Minia University Hospital for Obstetrics and
Pediatrics (MUHOP) hosted the experiment. About 70 maternity nurses were part of the convenient
sample. Two tools were used: a structured interview questionnaire with two components (personal
data and knowledge evaluation sheet) and an observational checklist for practices sheet. An
educational program was implemented for maternity nurses about obstetric triage. Results: About
54.3% of studied nurses have age group from 25-35 years, 32.9% work at labor ward, and 64.3% of
them obtain their knowledge from nurses’ work. There is a highly statistically significant difference
between pre &post-test regarding total knowledge and practices of studied maternity nurses
regarding obstetric triage p-value 0.001 for both. Conclusion: The knowledge of maternity nurses
about obstetric triage improved between the pretest and post-test as evidenced by the pretest and
posttest knowledge scores. Recommendations: provide a continuous education and training
program to maternity nurses’ on obstetric triage.

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