Abstract

Objective: To assess the awearness of clinical registered nurses of positioning and early mobilization care for patients with stroke before and after the educational intervention.

Method: Based on the quality criteria guideline by Ministry of Health 2014 for caring stroke patients, the one group pre-test and post-test educational intervention was conducted among 45 clinical registered nurses in Nam Dinh general hospital. Using the same self-completed questionnaire to measure nurses’ knowledge before, right after the completion of the intervention and 30 days later.

Result: The mean score of nurses’ awareness of positioning and early mobilization care for patients with stroke was 7 ± 2,14 of the total 20 points before the intervention, then went up to 16,62 ± 1,81 points right after the completion of the intervention and remained at 15,13 ± 3,34 points at the time of 30 days later (p values of 0.001). The percentages of clinical nurses perceived adequately the complications caused by poor positioning and early mobilization care; patients’ positions in accordance with specific stroke conditions; the time and required clinical signs and symptoms allowing a nurses to begin mobilization care for a stroke patient; and the right process of early mobilization before the intervention were 0%, 2.2%, 0%, and 55,5%. These percentages increased immediately after the intervention and retained at high levels at 30 days later, equal to 8.9% and 24.4%, 44% and 40%, 53.3% and 37.8%, 100% and 95.5%, respectively.

Conclusion: The awareness of clinical nurses of positioning and early mobilization care for stroke patients within the study was low before the intervention, then improved significantly after completing the educational programme. The research results revealed the necessity to conduct educational programmes which have to be appropriate in contents, learning method, and especially in target participants for specific nursing care.