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Abstract

Background: Despite the critical role nurses play in managing poisoning cases, gaps in their knowledge can hinder patient outcomes. An educational program may address this deficit, but its effectiveness on nurses’ knowledge in poisoning management remains to be systematically evaluated.

Objectives:

This study aimed to examine the effect of an educational program on nurses’ knowledge of poisoning management.

Methods:

A quasi-experimental study with a pre- and post-test design was conducted on 80 nurses working in an emergency department (ED) in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. The 80 nurses were randomly allocated into two groups of 40 to either receive the educational intervention or serve as a control group. Nurses in the intervention group received three sessions of educational lectures over three consecutive days while the control group received no training. A 20-item questionnaire was used to assess nurses’ knowledge of poisoning management at baseline and two months after the end of the intervention. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, t-test, paired t-test, and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.

Results:

At baseline, the intervention and control groups did not significantly differ in their mean knowledge scores (1.36 ± 0.13 vs. 1.40±0.12, P = 0.172). The intervention group's knowledge score increased to 1.91 ± 0.05 after the intervention (P < 0.001), while the control group's score did not change significantly (P = 0.08).

Conclusion:

The educational program could significantly increase nurses’ knowledge of poisoning management. Therefore, it is recommended that similar educational programs be held on a regular basis to improve emergency nurses’ knowledge and update them on how to handle poisoning cases.

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