Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Program on Knowledge and Practice of staff nurses regarding care of unconscious patients in a selected hospital, Alappuzha District, Kerala

Introduction: The primary goal of caring for an unconscious client is to maintain a patent airway and to promote recovery and prevent complications. It is considered as one the most important aspects of critical care nurses. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge and practice of staff nurse regarding care of unconscious clients in a selected hospital in Alappuzha district. Methods: The research approach used for this study was quantitative research approach and the design used was Quasi experimental research design. Convenient sampling technique was used for the study. The study sample consisted of 40 staff nurses. The tool consisted of a structured knowledge questionnaire and a self-reported practice checklist to assess the practice of staff nurses. Results: The data obtained were organized and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics according to objectives and hypothesis of the study. The findings of the study revealed that 40% of the nurses had good knowledge and 15% had poor knowledge in pre test whereas 65% of the nurses attained good knowledge and 7.5% only have poor knowledge in post test. In practice scores, 37.5% of nurses doing adequate practice and 7.5% had poor practice when doing pre test whereas in post-test, 77.5% doing adequate practice and none of them were with poor practice. And also showed that there was no association between the selected demographic variables with the knowledge and practice score. Conclusion: The study findings conclude that despite the increase in number of nurses, the quality was deteriorating. Hence the development of skills and improving knowledge of nurses through structured teaching program is justified by this study to improve the quality of care to unconscious clients.