Effects of an educational program using a virtual social network on nurses' knowledge and performance of blood pressure measurement: a randomized controlled trial

• Published in: BMC nursing 2022-12, Vol.21 (1), p.365-365, Article 365
• Main Authors: Elzeky, Mohamed E H, Shahine, Noha F M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood pressure measurement; Distance learning; Knowledge; Nurse
• ISSN: 1472-6955; 1472-6955
• DOI: 10.1186/s12912-022-01137-0

Hypertension diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up depend on accurate blood pressure measurement; however, inaccurate measurement techniques are common among healthcare providers. To improve professional performance, continuous education is necessary. Distance education through virtual social network can be used as it is easy to use and accessible. This study adopted a randomized controlled trial design and was conducted at two hospitals in Mansoura, Egypt. The subjects were selected from two hospitals using Stratified random sampling method in proportion to the total number of nurses. Seventy nurses were included in this study and were randomly divided into the intervention (n = 35) and control (n = 35) groups using block randomization. Data were gathered before and after intervention using a blood pressure measurement knowledge questionnaire and a blood pressure measurement observation checklist. The blood pressure measurement error (the difference between the BP determined by each observer and the reference BP) was calculated for the randomly selected recordings in both groups. The intervention group received 24 blood pressure measurement education sessions using WhatsApp, while the control group received only routine education using traditional lecture. No statistically significant differences in pretest knowledge scores, performance scores, and range of error were found between both groups, whereas, after intervention, knowledge scores were higher in the intervention group than those in the control group (p