Effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve nurses' knowledge on pediatric nasogastric intubation.

OBJETIVE: To establish the effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve nurses' knowledge on pediatric nasogastric intubation.

METHODS

Multicenter, quasi-experimental, pre- and post-test study using a theoretical educational intervention based on bibliographic evidence and assessment of its effectiveness after 4 months.

RESULTS

Delivered questionnaires: 1019. Valid questionnaires: 557 (54.66 %) pre-test and 246 (24.14 %) post-test. Pre- and post-test answers indicated that the implied risk always entailed by the procedure had been perceived by 53.2 % and then increased to 70.7 % (p < 0.001). Nasogastric (NG) tube size was chosen using tables by 4.3 % of participants, and increased to 24.6 % (p < 0.001). The length of NG tube to be inserted as measured by the nose-ear-midumbilicus distance (NEMU) method increased from 34.2 % to 81.3 % (p < 0.001). Confirmation of NG tube placement prior to use increased from 73.1 % to 86.5 % (p < 0.001). Confirmation of the five rights (patient, drug, dosage, route, and timing) prior to NG tube use increased from 85.6 % to 91 %. In relation to confirmation methods, the perception that auscultation was unsafe improved from 11.7 % to 31.1 % (p < 0.001), and its use reduced from 95.1 % to 81.6 %. The perception that the measurement of gastric pH was safe increased from 71.3 % to 91.1 % (p < 0.001), and its use rose from 7.6 % to 54.3 % (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The educational intervention was effective to increase nurses' knowledge on pediatric nasogastric intubation.