| Summary: | Catherine Nakiganda, Joseph Atukwatse, Johnan Turyasingura, Vallence Niyonzima Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara City, UgandaCorrespondence: Vallence Niyonzima, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara City, Uganda, Tel +256 777842830, Email vniyonzima@must.ac.ugBackground: Sepsis is a global pandemic and public health concern. There is a paucity of data relating to its management and outcomes in the developing world. The surviving sepsis campaign (SSC) guidelines have been developed to improve outcomes of patients with sepsis. There are no documented in-hospital protocols on sepsis management for nurses in Uganda. This study evaluated the effect of an educational intervention on nurses’ knowledge of SSC guidelines in management of patients with sepsis at Mulago National Referral Hospital.Methods: We used a quasi-experimental design and recruited 40 nurses from neuro-surgical ward and ICU. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted using a validated self-administered questionnaire between October 2020 to February 2021. The intervention was conducted through sessions of presentations, watching videos, and case studies. Data were entered in excel, cleaned, and exported to Stata version 16. Median and interquartile range were used for continuous variables while frequencies and percentages were used for categorical variables. Mean knowledge scores were computed for pre- and post-test evaluation. A paired t-test was used to compare the pre- and post-test knowledge scores at p ≤ 0.05 and 95% confidence interval.Results: In this study, 57.5% of nurses were from ICU, 67.7% were females and 70% diploma holders. Median age was 32 (IQR= 21.5– 35.5) years. In the post test all nurses were able to score above the preset acceptable score of 50% on the current sepsis guidelines. Mean knowledge score was 3.6 (SD = 1.8) pretest and 8.4 (SD = 1.2) posttest. There was a significant difference in pre and post-intervention mean knowledge scores of 4.9 (SD = 1.90, 95% CI: 4.2– 4.5; t (39) = 16.242, p < 0.001).Conclusion: The educational intervention improved nurses’ knowledge on SSC guidelines. Regular continuous professional nursing education on sepsis could improve nurses’ knowledge and quality of care for patients with sepsis.Keywords: nurses, sepsis, knowledge, surviving sepsis campaign guidelines, management
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