Assessment of an educational intervention to improve nurses’ knowledge of blood pressure measurement

Abstract

Background: Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement is a constant challenge, particularly in intensive care units. Thus, studies focusing on avoiding errors in practices of measuring BP are important to patient safety. The objective was to assess the effects of an educational intervention addressing BP measurement, targeting the theoretical and practical knowledge of nurses from a cardiac unit.

Methods: This quasi-experimental, before-and-after, study was conducted in a large tertiary hospital in Brazil and included all nurses working in that unit (31 nurses, 86.1%). Data were collected through two types of assessments: practical and theoretical knowledge of the technique, before-and-after the educational intervention that involved simulation as a teaching strategy. A validated checklist was used for both assessments.

Results: Most participants were female (64.5%), with an average age of 33.1 years old. Considerable improvement was observed in theoretical and practical knowledge concerning the steps used for BP measurement (p < .05). Considering the total sample, nurses complied with all steps of the BP measurement after educational intervention and the results were considered statistically significant (p < .05).

Conclusions: The educational intervention improved the knowledge of nurses, which may contribute to safer healthcare delivery and error-free BP measurements.