Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Document Type

Major Paper

School

School of Nursing

Department

Nursing

Date of Original Version

Spring 2017

Abstract

Patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) after trauma from a fall, motor vehicle collision, or assault frequently develop a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) also called concussion. There is no specific treatment for concussion, therefore, the focus shifts to managing symptoms. Countless EDs experience overcrowding leading to time and resource constraints, therefore nursing discharge education is brief and may only review symptoms which require immediate medical attention. This ED discharge practice leaves the patient on their own to manage symptoms and if the patient is unaware, they may perform activities that exacerbate their condition. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of an educational program on ED nurses’ knowledge of concussion/MTBI and the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended education for patients and families discharged home.

The study took place at a large level I trauma center, using a nonprobability convenience sample of ED nurses. A pre-intervention post-test design was used to measure nurses’ knowledge regarding concussion. The intervention consisted of a poster board and informational packet that provided nurses with evidence-based information about concussion and discharge instructions. Fifty-one nurses (28%) completed the pre-test with a mean score of 61.96% and total scores ranged from 30% to 90%. Twenty-eight nurses (15%) completed the post-test with a mean score of 78.2% and a range of 40% to 100%. There was an overall improvement in the total scores by 16.24%. These findings suggest that an evidence-based educational intervention increases ED nurses’ knowledge regarding concussion and appropriate discharge education for concussion patients.

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