Effectiveness of an educational intervention on intensive care nurses' knowledge and practice of endotracheal suctioning: a single-group pretest-posttest study.
Imran Inayat Yousafzai, Ihsanur Rahman, Bakhtyar Ali Shah
{"title":"Effectiveness of an educational intervention on intensive care nurses' knowledge and practice of endotracheal suctioning: a single-group pretest-posttest study.","authors":"Imran Inayat Yousafzai, Ihsanur Rahman, Bakhtyar Ali Shah","doi":"10.1186/s12912-026-05049-1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Endotracheal tube (ETT) suctioning is a critical nursing procedure essential for airway management in mechanically ventilated patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Proper suctioning practices help reduce complications, including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, evidence suggests that ICU nurses' knowledge and practices regarding ETT suctioning remain suboptimal. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention on ICU nurses' knowledge and practices regarding ETT suctioning.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>A quasi-experimental single-group pretest-posttest study was conducted in the intensive care units (ICUs) of three public sector tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan. Eligible ICU nurses who met the inclusion criteria and consented to participate were recruited using convenience sampling (n = 60). Knowledge and practice were assessed before and after the educational intervention using a structured knowledge questionnaire and an observational practice checklist.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Nurses' knowledge scores improved significantly following the intervention (pre-intervention: 6.57 ± 1.79 vs. post-intervention: 10.23 ± 1.68; mean difference = 3.66; p < 0.001), with a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 2.12). Practice scores also increased significantly from 12.65 ± 1.83 to 16.38 ± 1.43 (mean difference = 3.73; p < 0.001), corresponding to a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 2.27).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The educational intervention was associated with substantial improvements in ICU nurses' knowledge and practices regarding endotracheal suctioning. However, because this study employed a single-group pretest-posttest design without a control group, the findings should be interpreted with caution, as causal relationships cannot be established. Regular in-service education is recommended to maintain competency and promote adherence to evidence-based endotracheal suctioning practices.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial registration: </strong>Not applicable.</p>","PeriodicalId":48580,"journal":{"name":"BMC Nursing","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.2000,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13449507/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMC Nursing","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05049-1","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NURSING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Endotracheal tube (ETT) suctioning is a critical nursing procedure essential for airway management in mechanically ventilated patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Proper suctioning practices help reduce complications, including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). However, evidence suggests that ICU nurses' knowledge and practices regarding ETT suctioning remain suboptimal. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention on ICU nurses' knowledge and practices regarding ETT suctioning.
Methodology: A quasi-experimental single-group pretest-posttest study was conducted in the intensive care units (ICUs) of three public sector tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan. Eligible ICU nurses who met the inclusion criteria and consented to participate were recruited using convenience sampling (n = 60). Knowledge and practice were assessed before and after the educational intervention using a structured knowledge questionnaire and an observational practice checklist.
Results: Nurses' knowledge scores improved significantly following the intervention (pre-intervention: 6.57 ± 1.79 vs. post-intervention: 10.23 ± 1.68; mean difference = 3.66; p < 0.001), with a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 2.12). Practice scores also increased significantly from 12.65 ± 1.83 to 16.38 ± 1.43 (mean difference = 3.73; p < 0.001), corresponding to a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 2.27).
Conclusion: The educational intervention was associated with substantial improvements in ICU nurses' knowledge and practices regarding endotracheal suctioning. However, because this study employed a single-group pretest-posttest design without a control group, the findings should be interpreted with caution, as causal relationships cannot be established. Regular in-service education is recommended to maintain competency and promote adherence to evidence-based endotracheal suctioning practices.
期刊介绍：
BMC Nursing is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of nursing research, training, education and practice.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
