Nurses’ Knowledge Regarding Discharge Plan for Children with Congenital Heart Diseases

Abstract

Discharge planning involves assessing a patient's condition and developing an actionable strategy to help them transition from one setting to another. The purpose of a discharge plan is to document the final objectives of the care plan, which are to increase the individual's abilities for personal care and independence. Most often, nurses' lack of knowledge prevents them from completing discharge planning for their patients.

Objective: The goal of the study is to assess the level of nurses’ knowledge regarding discharge plan for children with congenital heart diseases.

Methodology: A quantitative descriptive design, Cross sectional analytical study was conducted among (50) nurses’ who work at the open heart department at specialized Ibn Al-Nafees Hospital for Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery in AL- Rusafa and from Ibn Al-Bitar Specialized Hospital for Cardiac Surgery in AL- Karkh in Baghdad city, Iraq starting from 7th September of 2022 to 14th  May of 2023.The study instrument was  consisted of (15) items and the data were collected through self-administration questioners. Data were analyzed by using (SPSS Version 26).

Results: The study showed that the majority of the participants in the study were females aged between 20- less than 25 years of Diploma degree in nursing. Most of them were unmarried and had years of experience in hospital and in open heart department less than five years. The study displayed that nurses' knowledge regarding discharge plan for sick children were knowledge deficit.

Conclusion: The researchers concluded that there were deficits in numerous domains of the nurses' knowledge regarding discharge plan for children with congenital heart Diseases. 

Recommendation: The researchers recommend that there is a need to encourage nursing staff to participate in the training courses and conferences special of the discharge plan as well as lectures to update the information and develop the skills of nurses. Inclusion of a scientific guideline for the discharge plan by the Ministry of Health in health institutions and application by professional nursing staff in hospitals.