EFFECT OF IMPLEMENTING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ABOUT SAFETY BLOOD TRANSFUSION ON THE NURSE’S KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE

Errors in blood transfusion practice can lead to serious consequences, morbidity and mortality complications for children. Nurses play an important role in safety blood transfusion. Safety blood administration, and child surveillance. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of implementing an educational program about safety blood transfusion on nurses' knowledge and practice. Quasi- experimental research design was used. The study was conducted at Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Department of Tanta University Hospital and El Oboor Hospital of Kafr El-sheikh. A convenient sample of 25 nurses were selected from Pediatrics Hematology and Oncology Department of Tanta University Hospital and simple random sample of 25 nurses from 32 nurses were selected from El Oboor Hospital of Kafr El-sheikh. Two tools were used for data collection: A structured questionnaire schedule to assess nurse's knowledge about blood transfusion and observation checklist to assess nurse's practices pre, during and after blood transfusion. The results shows an improvement of nurses' knowledge and practice about safe blood transfusion after the program implementation and the child got fewer acute adverse reactions such as fever, chills, myalgia, nausea and/or vomiting, urticaria, dyspnea, hypoxia, hypotension, pain and severe anxiety. The study concluded that nurse's knowledge and practice improved after the implementation of blood transfusion educational program. Based on the findings of the present study the following recommendation were recommended that ongoing in-service education programs to nurses at pediatric hematology units are necessary to improve their knowledge and practice. Universal protocols for blood transfusion should be integrated into pediatric nursing curriculum.