“Short Comunication” The Effect of Clinical Nursing Services Accreditation Training on the Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses

Abstract

Background and Aim Accreditation refers to the systematic assessment of health care centers based on certain standards. The nursing accreditation system is a system that evaluates the capabilities of nurses. Given that nurses have ability to implement and monitor the accreditation process, accreditation process is influenced by nurses’ performance. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of educating clinical nursing service accreditation on the attitude and knowledge of nurses. Material & Methods This semi-experimental study was conducted on 30 nurses working at Alavi hospital affiliated to Ardebil University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire on knowledge (41 items) and attitude (18 items) towards clinical nursing service accreditation. At first, participants were evaluated regarding their level of knowledge and attitude about clinical nursing service accreditation. Then, samples participated in an educational course about the criteria, audits, checklists and the indicators of clinical nursing service accreditation. Two months later, their level of knowledge and attitude were re-evaluated. Data were analyzed by SPSS19 using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results The mean score of nurses’ knowledge about clinical nursing service accreditation before the intervention was 121.23 ± 16.80 that increased to 141.53 ± 14.33 after the intervention (P= 0.001). The educational intervention led to increase the scores in all the aspects of knowledge except for equipment and facilities (P=0.153). However, the educational intervention had no significant effect on the attitude of nurses towards clinical nursing service accreditation (P=0.219). Conclusion Education would increase the knowledge about clinical nursing service accreditation. Performing specific interventions for changing nurses’ attitude to operate clinical nursing service accreditation seems necessary.