A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE OF STAFF NURSES IN MANAGING ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE WITH A VIEW TO DEVELOP A NURSING CARE PROTOCOL IN SELECTED HOSPITALS AT KOLLAM.

*Sony John and Binutha V. P.

ABSTRACT

A descriptive study was conducted to assess the knowledge of staff nurses in managing electrolyte imbalance. The objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge of staff nurses in managing electrolyte imbalance, to determine the association between knowledge score of staff nurses in managing electrolyte imbalance and selected demographic variables and to prepare a nursing care protocol on management of electrolyte imbalance. The conceptual frame work used for the study was Nola J Pender‟s Health Promotion model. Convenience sampling technique was used to select 200 staff nurses. The knowledge of the staff nurses was assessed by using structured knowledge questionnaire. The researcher assessed the knowledge of staff nurses in four categories of electrolyte imbalances such as hyponatremia, hypernatremia, hypokalemia and hyperkalemia. The findings of the study revealed that staff nurses possessed highest level of knowledge regarding hyperkalaemia and the lowest level of knowledge regarding hypernatremia. The study also revealed that among the six demographic variables, there was a significant association between knowledge score of staff nurses and demographic variables such as age and clinical area of work. But there was no significant association with gender, educational status, years of clinical experience and source of information. The findings of the study suggested that more in- service educational programs need to be delivered to the staff nurses to enhance their application of knowledge in managing all kinds of electrolyte imbalances. Therefore, at the end of the research study a nursing care protocol on management of patient with electrolyte imbalances was prepared by the researcher and distributed to the sample.

Keywords: Knowledge; Electrolyte Imbalance; Staff nurses.