Effects of an Algorithm-based Education Program on Nursing Care for Children with Epilepsy by Hospital Nurses

PURPOSE: Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in childhood. Hospital nurses, who are the first to recognize seizures in epilepsy patients in the ward environment, possess expertise related to epilepsy and play a central role in epilepsy management. The purpose of this study was to develop an algorithm-based education program and to improve nurses’ knowledge and self-efficacy related to providing nursing care to children with epilepsy. METHODS: The education program consisted of lectures on the definition, cause, classification, diagnosis, treatment, and nursing of epilepsy based on a booklet, as well as practice using an algorithm for nursing interventions when a child experiences a seizure. Twenty-seven nurses working at pediatric neurological wards and a pediatric emergency room participated in the education program. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the paired t-test. RESULTS: Nurses’ knowledge and self-efficacy showed a statistically significant improvement after participation in the education program on nursing care for children with epilepsy. CONCLUSION: The application of this education program for hospital setting is expected to improve nurses' capability to care for children with epilepsy, thereby contributing to a higher quality of nursing.