title: Intervention to improve intensive care nurses' knowledge of sedation assessment and management.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sedation management is an integral component of critical care practice. It requires the greatest attention of critical care practitioners because it carries significant risks to patients. Therefore, it is imperative that nurses are aware of potential adverse consequences of sedation therapy and current sedation practice recommendations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on nurses' knowledge of sedation assessment and management.
  
  
  METHODS
  A quasi-experimental design with a pre- and post-test method was used. The educational intervention included theoretical sessions on assessing and managing sedation and hands-on sedation assessment practice using the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale. Its effect was measured using self-administered questionnaire, completed at the baseline level and 3 months following the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants were 68 registered nurses from an intensive care unit of a teaching hospital in Malaysia. Significant increases in overall mean knowledge scores were observed from pre- to post-intervention phases (mean of 79·00 versus 102·00, p < 0·001). Nurses with fewer than 5 years of work experience, less than 26 years old, and with a only basic nursing education had significantly greater level of knowledge improvement at the post-intervention phase compared to other colleagues, with mean differences of 24·64 (p = 0·001), 23·81 (p = 0·027) and 27·25 (p = 0·0001), respectively. A repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a statistically significant effect of educational intervention on knowledge score after controlling for age, years of work and level of nursing education (p = 0·0001, ηp (2) = 0·431).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An educational intervention consisting of theoretical sessions and hands-on sedation assessment practice was found effective in improving nurses' knowledge and understanding of sedation management.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlighted the importance of continuing education to increase nurses' understanding of intensive care practices, which is vital for improving the quality of patient care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Vimala
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Khatijah L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Patrick Sk
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and Julius Centre University of Malaya (JCUM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Li P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Educational Leadership & Unit for the Enhancement of Academic Performance (ULPA), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Piaw Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chua
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003422:Critical Care; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000379:methods; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008296:Malaysia; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives
keywords: Educational intervention; Intensive care nurses; Nursing knowledge; Sedation assessment; Sedation management