| dc.description.abstract | Purpose: This descriptive cross-sectional study sought to assess the implementation of the
nursing process by nurses in two sub county hospitals in Machakos county, Namely: Kangundo
and Kathiani sub county hospitals. The study examined the influence of the nurses’
characteristics and the nurses’ attitudes on the implementation of the nursing process in the sub
County.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire collected quantitative data, while key informant
interviews were used to gather qualitative information. Descriptive statistics and inferential
statistics (in particular, the chi-square and Fisher’s Exact) were derived from the data.
Results: Sixty-three percent of the nurses (n=45) had drafted a NCP a week prior to the study
while 35.7% (n=25) had not. Seventy-five percent of them (n=41) had implemented the NCP.
The nurses who developed the nursing care plan frequently ended up implementing it (100%,
n=43) compared to those who did not (23.1%, n=3; fisher’s Exact Test P=0.000). Similarly,
among the nurses who did not implement the nursing process, 76.9% (N=10) of them felt that
NCP is time consuming. This difference was significant at 5% confidence level (LR=8.717,
df=2, p=0.013). Although statistical analysis revealed no significant association between nursing
process implementation and socio-demographic factors (p>0.05), qualitative findings suggested
that the newly qualified nurses are more familiar with the nursing process than their older
colleagues.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: study recommends that nursing
administration cultivate positive mentality among nurses towards the nursing process;
particularly focusing on making nurses understand that the tool should be consistently used
among all patients and that it significantly improves patient care. | en_US |
