title: Learning needs of Taiwanese nurses caring for patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
abstract: This study, building on work on irritable bowel syndrome conducted by Letson and Dancey (1996), explores Taiwanese nurses' knowledge, perceptions and beliefs about caring for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A 46-item questionnaire was completed voluntarily by 120 registered nurses from a large tertiary acute care facility in Taiwan. The study used a descriptive research design and a questionnaire was developed that used a five-point Likert scale (strongly agree = 5, to strongly disagree = 1). The questionnaire consisted of six categories: demographic information; nurses' sources of IBS information; nurses' knowledge about IBS; nurses' perceptions about patients with IBS; nurses' beliefs about IBS; and learning requirements for nurses. Overall, the results indicted that Taiwanese nurses who participated in this study had little specific knowledge of IBS. The researchers developed a booklet containing information on the condition of IBS that may be used by the participants in this study to fill the knowledge gaps about this condition and provide useful information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chung-hwa Institute of Technology, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McCutcheon
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003109:Colonic Diseases, Functional / Q000451:nursing*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan