Researcher Sabrina Shalaot, a student in the master’s program in intensive care nursing, has defended her thesis titled: “A Cross-Sectional Study for Evaluating Intensive Care Unit Nurses’ Knowledge of the ABDCEF Package in Governmental Hospitals in the Palestinian Territory.”
This study aims to evaluate the level of intensive care nurses’ knowledge of the ABCDEF package in addition to its effectiveness in preventing delirium. This package includes: pain assessment and management (A), spontaneous awakening and breathing attempts (B), anesthesia selection (C), delirium monitoring and management (D), early movement/mobility (E), and family participation (F).
The research was conducted as a comprehensive cross-sectional study among all qualified nurses in intensive care units in major governmental hospitals in the Palestinian Territory using a quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional design for this study. As such, a structured questionnaire analyzing the elements of the package was distributed to 134 nurses in major governmental hospitals in the cities of Ramallah, Nablus, and Hebron.
The research findings revealed that 35.1% of respondents had knowledge of the ABCDEF package to varying degrees across hospitals. Knowledge of the ABCDEF package was higher for both ICU staff using a nurse: patient ratio of 1:3/1:4 (on row), with a 3:1 nurse/patient ratio during the day and a 1:4 nurse/patient ratio at night. It was also higher for patients with a higher average length of stay.
The researcher recommended developing interventions by policy makers and hospital managers to increase intensive care nurses' awareness of the ABCDEF package as well as the way of using it in intensive care units to prevent and treat delirium, in addition to implementing it in Palestinian hospitals.
The thesis was supervised by Dr. Imad Abu Khader. The committee of examiners included Dr. Sajid Gawadra and Dr. Samar Jallad.