Effect of educational intervention on knowledge and skills of bachelor nursing completion students towards Paediatric emergency triage at Jinja, Mbarara University of Science and Technology. A cross-sectional study.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51168/sjhrafrica.v6i9.2049Keywords:
Educational intervention, Knowledge and skills, Paediatric emergency triage, Bachelor of Nursing students, Nursing education, Clinical competence, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Emergency Triage systemsAbstract
Background:
Despite the government’s efforts to train in-service nurses, the knowledge of student nurses towards the use of ETAT+, a WHO tool for the rapid identification and management of emergency pediatric patients, is limited. The study aimed to assess the baseline knowledge and skills, as well as the effect of an educational intervention, on the knowledge and skills of Bachelor of Nursing Completion (BNC) students regarding emergency Paediatric triage at Jinja campus, MUST.
Methods:
A pre-posttest quasi-experimental design using quantitative methods was employed among 30 second-year BNC students at MUST–Jinja Campus. Consecutive sampling was applied. Baseline knowledge was assessed using a WHO-adapted questionnaire, and skills were evaluated through a simulation-based checklist. Participants underwent a one-and-a-half-hour lecture-based ETAT+ training and simulation session, followed by a post-intervention assessment after two weeks. Data was analyzed using STATA 17.0 with the Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests, with significance set at p<0.05.
Results:
(53.3%) Of the respondents were males, (63.3% reported having ever worked in an emergency department and only 20% of the participants reported having ever received triage training. At baseline, none of the students achieved satisfactory knowledge or skills scores (≥60%). The mean pretest knowledge score was 47% (SD 7), while skills scored a mean of 40% (SD 8). Post-intervention, knowledge scores significantly improved by 46.16%, from a median of 46.15% to 92.31% (Wilcoxon p<0.0001). Similarly, skills demonstrated marked improvement across domains, including patient assessment, communication, and clinical judgment, with overall competence significantly higher than baseline (p<0.05).
Conclusion:
The educational intervention using lecture and simulation-based training significantly improved both knowledge and skills of BNC students in pediatric emergency triage.
Recommendation:
Integration of ETAT+ training into the nursing curriculum and regular refresher simulations and continuous assessment are essential to ensure sustained knowledge and skills among student nurses and future practitioners.
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