ASSESSMENT OF NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE REGARDING DELIRIUM AT ADULT CRITICAL CARE UNITS IN BAGHDAD CITY

Abstract

ntroduction: Delirium is a common side effect of hospitalization, particularly among the elderly. It has the potential to cause significant morbidity, death, and a reduction in quality of life. Despite this, a thorough literature study revealed that it is under-recognized and poorly handled by medical and nursing personnel. Although some studies have discovered that nurse education programs can help patients with delirium. Objectives: Assess nurses’ level of knowledge about delirium and it is associated risk factors. Identify clinical and education implications of the findings. Assessment of the presence of special delirium scale and nurses use of it. Methods: this study is designed to measure the nurses’ knowledge regarding delirium at adult critical care units in Baghdad city. The non-probability (purposive) sample consist of 87 male and female nurses, who work in lCU, RCU and CCU in two teaching hospitals in Baghdad city. Their age range is between 21 _ 60 years. Subsequently, SPSS software applied to analyze the relevant data of the study. To achieve the research objective, a questionnaire was composed of two sections: part one deals with the sample’s demographic information. Part two deals with nurse’s knowledge towards delirium. The questionnaire was introduced to the study sample manually to fill it. Results: the study findings show that the majority of sample have moderate level of knowledge regarding delirium (51.6 %). In addition, there is a relationship between nurses’ knowledge and nurses’ work place in (P-value < 0.001) while there are no relationships with other variables. Conclusion: The study's main finding is that nurses at the study hospital have insufficient awareness of delirium, particularly when it comes to risk factors. However, nurses on one ward who received in-service delirium instruction performed better than nurses in other areas, indicating a link between nurse expertise and area of work. According to the researchers, further study that encompasses all hospitals in Iraq is needed. As well as, performing delirium training courses for patients, which is relevant to their sector of work.