Comparing the effects of jigsaw and lecture-based education on nurses' attitudes and screening competency toward delirium in the intensive care units: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization in the ICU is closely related to unwanted complications, including delirium. This condition generally occurs in the form of acute changes in mental status, and frequent fluctuation courses. As delirium can be potentially prevented, providing appropriate education to nurses to deal with its associated risk factors and properly managing it seems to be imperative.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized clinical trial with two parallel groups was done in two referral educational hospitals. In total, 75 ICU nurses were included. The nurses were randomly divided into, the jigsaw (Group A; n = 37) and lecture (Group B; n = 38). Group A was then taught based on the jigsaw approach during four sessions of 30-40 minutes, and Group B received lecture-based education for two sessions of 45-60 minutes. To collect the data, a demographic information form, the Nurse Attitude Survey, and the Nursing Delirium Screening Scale were completed at the pre-test stage and four weeks later as post-tests.

RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the mean scores of nurses' attitudes and delirium diagnosis before and after the intervention in the study groups (P < 0.001). Both approaches were accordingly effective in two variables attitudes and diagnosis but the trend of changes in the mean scores of such attitudes in Group A was higher than that in Group B (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Compared to the common methods of education, the cooperative ones, such as the jigsaw approach, were found to be more effective in enhancing nurses' attitudes to delirium and increasing their competency to screen it.