Factors Associated with Nurses' Competence in Averting Failure-To-Rescue in Acute Care Settings of a Tertiary Institution, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The concept of failure-to-rescue entails the idea that not all complications developed by patients are preventable, but nurses should be able to promptly identify and treat complications immediately they occur by virtue of their training and experience, but why some nurses are not able to thoroughly assess a patient's level of acuity and render the appropriate care has not been extensively studied.

Objectives: To assess the knowledge level of the Nurses' on the concept of failure-to-rescue; determine nurses' level of competence in averting failure-to-rescue; describe how the nurses' educational level, years of experience, organizational characteristics, and training and certification in capacity building skills is associated with their level of competence in averting failure-to-rescue respectively.

Methods: A correlation research design and purposive sampling technique was utilized to collect data from the respondents. A self-structured (Sections A, B and C) and adapted (Section D - PES-NWI) 38-item questionnaire was used to retrieve data from registered nurses in state government tertiary healthcare centre in sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with p-value set at 0.05.

Results: Most nurses have high knowledge regarding failure-to-rescue with a mean score of 5.91 and were moderately competent in averting failure-to-rescue with a mean score of 29.3. A significant correlation between educational level of respondents and level of competence in averting failure-to-rescue with a p – value of 0.038 was found. Respondents' years of experience was found to be significantly correlated to their level of competence in averting failure-to-rescue with p – value of 0.015. A significant correlation between organization characteristics and nurses' level of competence in averting failure-to-rescue with a p – value of 0.036 was also elicited. Nurses' training/certification in capacity building skills (such as BLS, ACLS and LSS (Midwifery) was found to be correlated to their level of competence in averting failure-to-rescue with a p – value of 0.044.

Conclusions: The study concluded that failure-to-rescue could be reduced in acute care settings with increased educational attainment, years of experience and modification of organization characteristics respectively.