The Knowledge of Pharmacology and Nursing Practice for Children with Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

Abstract

Objective: This study was performed to investigate knowledge of nurses with experience in caring for children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) about treatment regimens, knowledge of pharmacology based on the package insert for prednisolone, and nursing practice. Methods: Six hundred and ninety-seven nurses working at the children's ward in public hospitals and regional support hospitals were asked to enroll in this study. Results: We analyzed the responses of 210 out of 226 nurses who consented to the study by comparing knowledge of pharmacology nursing practice between nurses with and without experience in caring for patients with INS. In the group with experience of providing nursing care for patients with INS, 89 (90.8%) provided nursing care according to the plan, whereas 98 (89.1%) provided nursing care according to the plan in the group with no experience. Some nurses did not know all of the precautions for co-administration of prednisolone (experience: [30] 30.6% vs. no experience [39] 35.5%) There was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that nurses with experience in caring for patients with INS understood treatment plans for individual patients, but they may have not been performing nursing based on relevant guidelines. The results also revealed a gap between their treatment plan- related and pharmacological knowledge.