1. Improving Nurses' Knowledge in Caring for Children with Challenging Behaviors.
- Author
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Conley, Caroline R., Wendt, Lisa, and Schindler, Christine A.
- Subjects
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NURSING audit , *NURSING , *SOCIAL support , *CHILDREN'S hospitals , *HUMAN comfort , *TERTIARY care , *BEHAVIOR disorders in children , *HUMAN services programs , *SURVEYS , *PRE-tests & post-tests , *QUALITY assurance , *PEDIATRIC nurses , *CRITICAL care medicine , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *SCALE analysis (Psychology) , *COMMUNICATION , *DATA analysis software , *THEMATIC analysis , *AGGRESSION (Psychology) , *PAMPHLETS - Abstract
Hospital admission can be particularly difficult for children with known behavioral health challenges, such as children on the autism spectrum disorder. Nurses are in an ideal role to ease the burden associated with hospitalization. The aims of this quality improvement (QI) project include creating and implementing an evidencebased visual schedule for use with children who have challenging behaviors, and designing and implementing education for nurses specifically intended to describe evidence behind the use of visual activity schedules (VAS) for children with challenging behaviors. A Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) method was used, and the intervention was evaluated via pre- and post-implementation surveys. The QI project was implemented on a 24-bed acute care unit at a large, tertiary care, Midwestern children's hospital. A sample of 46 nurses received the education, with 23 completing the pre-implementation survey and 6 completing the post-implementation survey. Education was provided through in-person teaching and handouts. Nurses initially had a poor understanding of the use of VAS, which improved following the education. They felt comfortable providing care for children at risk for challenging behaviors and in their knowledge about diagnoses for these patients, which remained unchanged following the educational program. Positive feedback was received following implementation, with nurses noting a greater understanding about VAS for children at risk for challenging behaviors. Nurses learned how to identify patients that could benefit from the use of a VAS and how to work with families to create a schedule that could benefit the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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