Factors Hampering the Participation of Nursing Staff in the Continuing Education Activities of Hospitals Centers in the Casablanca-Settat Region

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to identify the factors hampering the participation of nurses in the activities of CE sessions at the level of hospitals in the region of Casablanca. Background: Continuing education (CE) for nursing staff represents a strategic asset for hospitals, identifying the constraints of nursing staff participation in continuing training could help improve the quality of care for patients and the population in general. Objective: This study aimed to identify the factors hampering the participation of nurses in the activities of CE sessions at the level of hospitals in the region of Casablanca. Methods: The study used a two-phase mixed method design. First of all, a questionnaire was administered to 930 nurses belonging to 9 hospital centers in the Casablanca-Settat region in order to explore and estimate the frequencies of the factors hindering the participation of nurses in the activities of the FC sessions at the level of hospitals, and a semi-structured interview with 9 persons in charge of continuing education from these different hospitals to complete and explain the data collected by the questionnaire. Results: The data analysis confirmed that the work overload is the first individual difficulty hindering the participation of nurses in CE sessions, i.e., 85.4%. The most mentioned organizational difficulties are schedule recommended in the FC not encouraging and not suitable, i.e., 23%, non-targeted content (does not meet the needs of the nursing staff), i.e., 66.7%. Finally, the absence of support measures in terms of monitoring and evaluation to maintain the knowledge and skills acquired during FC sessions in real situations at the workstation occupied is the first institutional difficulty mentioned by the interviewed (88%). Conclusion: Those responsible for training should take into account the factors nurse’s face in participating in continuing education sessions when designing, developing, and implementing continuing education sessions.