A Study to assess the Effectiveness of Planned Teaching on Knowledge Regarding safe Handling of Chemotherapeutic Drugs among the Student Nurses in selected Nursing Colleges of Vidarbha Region

Background: Acute and repeated exposure to chemotherapeutic agents is especially dangerous. Chemotherapy drugs are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and/or teratogenic. They can cause organ toxicity, including damage to a woman's reproductive system. The adverse reproductive effects associated with occupational exposure to these drugs-such as temporary and permanent infertility, birth defects, menstrual dysfunction, ectopic pregnancies, and spontaneous abortions. Objectives: To assess the knowledge of student nurses regarding safe handling of chemotherapeutic drugs. To assess the post test knowledge of student nurses regarding safe handling of chemotherapeutic drugs. To associate the knowledge score of the student nurses with their selected demographic variables. Material: Tool used for the study is structured knowledge questionnaire. Method: Non experimental Descriptive study on 60 subjects which includes student nurses of selected nursing colleges of Vidarbha region by Non probability convenience sampling. Results: In pre-test, 1.67% had very poor knowledge, 26.67% of subjects had poor knowledge, 58.83% had average knowledge, 13.33% had good knowledge and none of them had excellent knowledge. The minimum score was 4, maximum score was 15 and mean score was 9.95±2.281. Whereas in post-test 45% had good and excellent knowledge, 8.33% had average knowledge, 1.67% had poor knowledge and none were there in the group of very poor. The minimum score was 5 and maximum score was 20, the mean score was 16.05±2.620. It is statistically interpreted that posttest knowledge score was higher than the pretest knowledge score. There was no significant association between age, gender etc. There is significant increase in knowledge of student nurses regarding safe handling of chemotherapeutic drugs. So Research Hypothesis H₁ is accepted. Conclusion: The study was conducted among student nurses in order to assess their knowledge regarding safe handling of chemotherapeutic drugs. After the completion of the study it is revealed that before the planned teaching knowledge of student nurses was not adequate but after the planned teaching knowledge of student nurses improved tremendously.