Keywords
How to Cite
Abstract
Background: Triage has been used in emergency departments for prioritizing patients to determine which patients require immediate treatment according to their emergent health condition. Triage nurse is typically the first person on emergency when the patient is presented in emergency department. . According to previous studies, there is a lack of significant evidence to support the reliability and the predictability of the practices of nurses to be measured. Objective: To assess the triage knowledge and practice of registered nurses working in the emergency department of tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar, Pakistan. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in five tertiary care hospitals of KPK. Using a convenient sampling technique, 120 nurses were included in the study. Data was collected using a valid and reliable tool that was adopted and modified. The registered nurses who were present at the time of data collection were included, while managerial nurses were excluded. Data was analyzed through SPSS version 22. Results: The study revealed that 60% of the participants had good triage knowledge, and in terms of practice, 75% had good triage practice. Chi-square test was applied to find any significant association between the demographic variable and knowledge and practice. Age (P < 0.001) has a significant association with knowledge, and there is no significant association between the triage knowledge and practice (p > 0.08). Conclusions: The study revealed a good level of triage knowledge and practice of nurses and recommends adding emergency triage teaching sessions, involving a part of nurses and student nurses, to address the knowledge deficit areas, hence improving practice.