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Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to understand the importance of knowledge, skills and the system's role in the provision of CPR in any healthcare setting.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to appreciate the importance of maintaining synergy between the system and the nurse in providing optimal care to the patient.
In Botswana, nurses are the major healthcare providers. Professional nurses often encounter patients with cardiac arrests. It is therefore essential for these nurses to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) effectively. The aim of the study was to describe and explore Botswana’s nurses’ CPR perceptions, needs and barriers.
Both quantitative and qualitative research designs were used in four phases of the study. Convenience and purposive sampling were used.
Phase one audited the existing available facilities in Botswana’s hospitals for providing CPR. Phase two investigated nurses’ existing CPR knowledge and skills. Focus groups discussions and semi-structured interviews, during phase three, identified nurses’ perceived CPR barriers and needs for performing CPR effectively. In phase four, recommendations were made to improve the provision of CPR in Botswana.
The results indicated that inadequate CPR equipment and supplies were available, nurses’ CPR knowledge and skills revealed during the pre-test were inadequate. Following CPR training with the help of a manikin, nurses’ knowledge and skills improved substantially during the post test.
Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews conducted with registered nurses and senior nurse managers revealed that a lack of organizational support and resources, nurses’ lack of knowledge and skills, as well as inadequate policies and protocols posed barriers to nurses’ effective CPR.
In order to enhance the nurses’ CPR performance, Botswana’s hospitals should provide adequate equipment and supplies, introduce regular basic life support (BLS) training programs, perform regular audits of the existing facilities and equipment, implement definite policies regarding the nurses’ CPR role, and audit the records of every patient who required CPR. These recommendations, if implemented, could help to save many lives in Botswana.
See more of: Oral Paper & Poster: Evidence-Based Practice Contest