Impact Of Clinical Pathway Application On Improving Nurses' Practices Of Postpartum Care
Eman S Ashour
Lecturer at Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Egypt
Samah M El Homosy
Assistant professor at Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Egypt
Marwa A Shahin
3Assisstant professor at Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Egypt
Keywords: Clinical pathway application, Nurses practice, postpartum care
Abstract
Clinical Pathways (CP) are one of the main tools used to manage the quality of health care concerning the standardization of care processes. It is proven that their implementation reduces the variability in clinical practice and improves outcomes. Aim: The study aimed to investigate the impact of clinical pathway application on improving nurses' practice of postpartum care. Method: A quasi-experimental design (pre-post for maternity nurses and study/control for postpartum women) was implemented to establish the study. Settings: This study was conducted at gynecology and obstetrics departments affiliated to University Hospital and Shebin El-Kom teaching hospital, Menoufia Governorate, Egypt. Sample: A purposive sample of 50 maternity nurses and 200 postpartum women were recruited in this study. Five instruments were used for Data Collection: A structured interviewing questionnaire related to the maternity nurses, a structured interviewing questionnaire related to the postpartum women, an observational checklist for maternity nurses, an observational checklist for postpartum women and numeric pain intensity scale. Results: The study revealed that there were statistically significant differences between pretest and posttest after implementation of the clinical pathway manifested by higher knowledge and practice score for maternity nurses. In addition, post-partum women in study group had less pain and better postpartum and neonatal care. Recommendations: Application of the clinical pathway for maternity nurses and women during the postpartum period to improve their knowledge and practice. Also, facilitations and barriers of the application of clinical pathway should be analyzed to ensure an effective patient outcome.