FACTORS HINDERING PEDIATRIC WARD NURSES FROM USING NURSING CARE PLANS AT KENYATTA NATIONAL HOSPITAL, KENYA.

ABSTRACT Background: Documentation is a vital aspect for providing quality nursing services. A nursing care plan is the accredited document for that purpose because it individualizes patient care, communicates and supports continuity of care. However, it is less widely used amongst nurses. Objective: To determine factors hindering pediatric ward nurses from using nursing care plans. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on June to July of 2007 at Kenyatta National Hospital. The sample consisted of 7 in-charge and 122 non incharge nurses sampled by random stratification. A closed ended questionnaire was used to obtain measures on care plan utilization. The association between variables was tested using Pearson product moment correlation and the cut off level for statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Utilization of nursing care plans amongst nurses was very low (2%). There was no significant difference between socio-demographic factors and care plan use such as age (p = 0.796), qualification (p = 0.941) and years of service (p = 0.181). Nursing work characteristics such as stress (p = 0786) and workload (p = 0.328) were not significantly related to utilizing care plans though 70% and 75% nurses attributed stress and workload respectively to non-use of care plans. Familiarity with care plan contents was significantly related to the care plan utilization (p = 0.049) whereas ease of care plan design was not significantly related to the care plan utilization (p = 0.897). There was no significant relation between the nursing administration-determined factors such as staffing (p = 0.680) or care plan policy (p = 0.547) and care plan utilization. Conclusion: The results indicates low utilization of care plans, thus need to encourage care plan use through addressing specific factors related to nursing administration, nursing work, nurses and care plan designs.