Evaluating the effectiveness of a radiation safety training intervention for oncology nurses: a pretest – intervention – posttest study

Abstract

BackgroundRadiation, for either diagnosis or treatment, is used extensively in the field of oncology. An understanding of oncology radiation safety principles and how to apply them in practice is critical for nursing practice. Misconceptions about radiation are common, resulting in undue fears and concerns that may negatively impact patient care. Effectively educating nurses to help overcome these misconceptions is a challenge. Historically, radiation safety training programs for oncology nurses have been compliance-based and behavioral in philosophy.MethodsA new radiation safety training initiative was developed for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) adapting elements of current adult education theories to address common misconceptions and to enhance knowledge. A research design for evaluating the revised training program was also developed to assess whether the revised training program resulted in a measurable and/or statistically significant change in the knowledge or attitudes of nurses toward working with radiation. An evaluation research design based on a conceptual framework for measuring knowledge and attitude was developed and implemented using a pretest-intervention-posttest approach for 15% of the study population of 750 inpatient registered oncology nurses.ResultsAs a result of the intervention program, there was a significant difference in nurse's cognitive knowledge as measured with the test instrument from pretest (58.9%) to posttest (71.6%). The evaluation also demonstrated that while positive nursing attitudes increased, the increase was significant for only 5 out of 9 of the areas evaluated.ConclusionThe training intervention was effective for increasing cognitive knowledge, but was less effective at improving overall attitudes. This evaluation provided insights into the effectiveness of training interventions on the radiation safety knowledge and attitude of oncology nurses.

Assessment of training need and training efficacy for national program for prevention and control of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke among medical officers of West Bengal, India

“…11 Dauer et al had also similar findings regarding training intervention among nurses on radiation safety. 12 Training efficacy as evident in the current study had also been emphasized by Muthén and Curran (1997). 13 Similar findings were also there in studies by Dauar LT from New York City and also from a school-based study from Saudi Arabia.…”

The use of the “Endocrine Circuit” as an active learning methodology to aid in the understanding of the human endocrine system

“…Table 4 shows the percentage of correct answers given for each question, before and after the Endocrine Circuit application. Students' scores for questions 3,4,6,7,8,9, and 10 improved after the contact with the Endocrine Circuit. The greatest improvements, considering a higher percentage of correct answers after Endocrine Circuit application, were observed for questions 3 (36%), 4 (29%), 8 (29%), and 9 (42%).…”

“…The percentage of correct answers in the questionnaire increased from 64 to 85.2% when comparing the pretest and posttest, an increase of 21.2%. The pretest-posttest design is widely used to test the effectiveness of educational approaches in the scientific literature (3,4), which gives us confidence in the adequacy of our conclusions. Analyzing individually each question, seven questions showed improve- On top of good performance, the Endocrine Circuit activity was also well received by the students.…”

Radiation safety education and compliance with safety procedures—The Korea Nurses’ Health Study

“…Previous research has reported that radiation safety education improved compliance with radiation safety procedures in medical staff who participated in interventional procedures, reducing their exposure to radiation (Alahmari & Sun, ; Sheyn et al., ), and that nurses’ knowledge of and attitudes towards radiation safety can be enhanced through safety education (Dauer, Kelvin, Horan, & Germain, ).…”

“…Previous research has reported that radiation safety education improved compliance with radiation safety procedures in medical staff who participated in interventional procedures, reducing their exposure to radiation (Alahmari & Sun, 2015;Sheyn et al, 2008), and that nurses' knowledge of and attitudes towards radiation safety can be enhanced through safety education (Dauer, Kelvin, Horan, & Germain, 2006). Therefore, the ICRP and other concerned academic institutions recommend safety education for medical workers to control radiation safely (Chen, 2014;ICRP, 2009;Miller et al, 2010).…”