Nurses' Knowledge Of Aspiration In The Elderly And Its Intervention Study

Objective(1)To explore the current situation of nurses' cognition for senile aspiration,and its influential factors.(2)To examine the effect of group training guidance on the cognition of nursing staff's senile aspiration.Methods(1)Using a cross-sectional descriptive study,399 nurses were conveniently recruited from three local general hospitals,Wuhan,between June and August in 2016.Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires on their basic information and the level of cognition for senile aspiration.SPSS22.0 software was used for data analysis,descriptive statistics were used to describe the data,and analysis of variance was used to compare the difference in nurses' cognition on senile aspiration among different basic characters.(2)A quasi-experimental design was used.Totally,60 nurses who had 2-10 years' experience in caring for the elderly were recruited from a local level 3 hospital in Wuhan.They were assigned into the control group(n = 30)and the intervention group(n = 30).The intervention group received group training guidance,while the control group still practiced routine nursing care.Before and after intervention,the two groups used the nurses' cognition for senile aspiration questionnaire and the Standard Swallowing Assessment Scale to assess the cognitive status of the nursing staff in the elderly.Data were analyzed by SPSS22.0.The effect of intervention was compared by ?2 test and t test between the two groups.Results(1)The total score of nurses' cognition for senile aspiration were 30.92 ± 4.62,while the sub-scores of knowledge of aspiration risk,symptoms,complications,and aspiration management were 4.50±1.39,8.76±1.99,5.98±1.29,and 7.35±0.86,respectively.(2)There were no age,academic title,working department and past experience differences in the sub-scores and total score of nurses' cognition for senile aspiration(P> 0.05).The scores of nurses' knowledge on aspiration symptoms among nurses who worked 11 years and above,and who obtained bachelor degree were significant higher than that among those who worked 2-10 years,and those who graduated from secondary vocational school(all P <0.01).(3)After intervention,a significant increase in the total score and sub-scores of nurses' cognition for senile aspiration was observed in two groups(P <0.05).While the total score and sub-scores of nurses' cognition for senile aspiration were significantly higher in the intervention group than that in the control group.(4)After the intervention,the correct rates of the standard swallowing assessment scale in the intervention group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P <0.01).Conclusions(1)The nurses' cognition for senile aspiration was suboptimal.More attention should be paid for the first-line nurses through hospital continuing education programs.(2)Group training can significantly improve the level of nurses' cognition for senile aspiration.It proved to be economical,practical,high efficiency,and easy to accept in nursing staff.