Knowledge and Practices of Nurses on Fever Management
Date Issued
2005
Date
2005
Author(s)
Nien, I-Hsuan
DOI
zh-TW
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge and practices of nurses on fever management and influencing factors. A descriptive cross-sectional research and purposive sampling was conducted in a medical center. Three hundred and twenty three RNs working in medical wards, surgical wards and adult ICUs completed a set of questionnaires developed by the researcher, which regarding knowledge and practices of nurses on fever management. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe’s posterior comparison and Pearson’s product moment correlation.
The major results were as following:
1. The numbers of questions about nurses’ knowledge of fever management were 19. The mean score of the knowledge of nurses about fever management was 14.24±2.30. There were 5 questions of scores below 60%, which was not as high as expected. Significant factors associated with knowledge scores were working experience and clinical ladder. Nurses who had more working experience and higher clinical ladder had higher scores.
2. The methods of nurses practicing fever management in sequence were ice pillow, antipyretic agent, and tepid sponge. Physician practices strongly influenced nurses’ intentions to administer antipyretic agents. Nursing education and common sense strongly influenced nurses’ intentions to apply ice pillow and tepid sponge for fever management. Nurses working in medical wards administered antipyretic agent for fever management more than nurses in SICUs. Nurses working in surgical wards applied ice pillow for fever management more than nurses in medical wards; nurses working in MICUs or SICUs applied ice pillow for fever management more than nurses in medical wards. Nurses less studying reference about fever management more often applied ice pillow for fever management.
3. The correlation between nurses’ knowledge and practices on fever management revealed that knowledge of fever management was negatively correlated with applying ice pillow (r=-0.16). Nurses with higher level of knowledge on fever management less applied ice pillow to reduce fever. There were no correlation between nurses’ knowledge and the frequency of antipyretic treatment and tepid sponge.
In order to increase the quality of nursing practices on fever management, the results of this research suggest that educational program should be developed, implemented and evaluated, and encourage nurses to pursue higher clinical ladder. It is also recommended to develop the lifelong learning motivation and enforce nurses to update the knowledge of fever management. With accurate knowledge and evidence-based intentions, nurses will practice more positively on fever management.
Subjects
發燒處置
知識
行為
fever management
knowledge
behavior
Type
other