Effect of Short Messages on
ICU
Nurses' Knowledge and Performance Regarding Ventilator‐Associated Pneumonia Prevention: A Quasi‐Experimental Study
Farideh Danaee, Leili Rostamnia, Parvin Abbasi, Nader Salari ABSTRACT
Background
Various teaching methods have been used to train healthcare staff in ventilator‐associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention. Despite the positive results of blended learning in increasing nurses' knowledge and performance, there is a lack of robust, generalisable evidence on the medium‐ or long‐term effectiveness of text messages as part of educational packages and microlearning on the sustainability of these outcomes.
Aim
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of two teaching methods—lecture‐based and blended (lecture plus text messages)—on nurses' knowledge and performance in VAP prevention in Kermanshah.
Study Design
Sixty Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses participated in a training session, randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received educational messages containing key points from the training session every other day for 2 weeks; the control group did not receive messages. Knowledge and performance were measured before and after using a validated questionnaire to assess changes.
Results
The intervention and control groups each had 30 participants. Most nurses were women ( n = 40, 66%), over half were over 30 years old ( n = 28, 53%) and a significant proportion had less than 10 years of experience ( n = 52, 86%). At pre‐test, the mean knowledge scores were 21.1 ± 2.9 (intervention) and 20.2 ± 2.9 (control), with performance scores of 120.8 ± 10.4 and 120.1 ± 13.4, respectively. In post‐test, the intervention group showed statistically significant improvements in knowledge (20.2 ± 1.5 vs. 22.1 ± 1.9; p < 0.001), performance (126.9 ± 8.2 vs. 120.8 ± 9.7; p < 0.02).
Conclusions
Ongoing short message service (SMS) reminders improved nurses' knowledge and performance in VAP prevention.
Relevance to Clinical Practice
This study demonstrates that a low‐cost, affordable educational programme based on continuous repetition with brief content (short reminder short message service [SMS]) can significantly improve intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' knowledge and adherence to ventilator‐associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention measures. Implementing such simple, concise interventions within continuing clinical education programmes can sustainably reinforce infection prevention behaviours and, in resource‐limited settings, lead to improved clinical outcomes and reduced care costs.