- Author:
Eun Soo KIM
1
;
Ki Tae KWON
;
Sung Kook KIM
;
Miyoung KIM
;
Hyun Seok LEE
;
Byung Ik JANG
;
Kyeong Ok KIM
;
Eun Young KIM
;
Yoo Jin LEE
;
Suk Jin HONG
;
Chang Heon YANG
;
Ben KANG
;
Byung Ho CHOE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Crohn disease; Colitis, ulcerative; Schools, nursing
- MeSH: Abdominal Pain; Colitis, Ulcerative; Crohn Disease; Daegu; Diarrhea; Education*; Electronic Mail; Humans; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases*; Internet; Pamphlets; Schools, Nursing; Specialization; Tertiary Care Centers
- From:Gut and Liver 2019;13(1):48-53
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: School nurses’ knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been evaluated. We aimed to investigate school nurses’ knowledge of IBD and determine whether education could improve this knowledge. METHODS: School nurses were invited to complete self-reported questionnaires on IBD. Then, IBD specialists from tertiary referral hospitals provided a 60-minute lecture with educational brochures on two occasions, with a 3-month interval. Within 6 months after the educational interventions, school nurses were asked to complete the same IBD questionnaire via e-mail. RESULTS: Among 101 school nurses who were invited to participate, 54 nurses (53.5%) who completed two consecutive questionnaires were included in this study (median age, 45 years; range, 25 to 59 years; 100% female); 11.1% and 7.4% of the study participants had no knowledge regarding ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, respectively. They had heard of IBD most frequently from doctors (33.3%), followed by internet sources (25.9%). After 6 months, the number of nurses who could explain IBD to students with over 30% confidence increased from 24 (44.5%) to 42 (77.8%) (p < 0.001). Most nurses (81.5%) reported that the educational intervention was helpful for managing students with abdominal pain or diarrhea. The number of students who received IBD-related welfare services from the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education doubled when compared with the corresponding number during the prior educational year. CONCLUSIONS: There is room for improvement in school nurses’ knowledge of IBD. A systematic educational program on IBD should be implemented for these nurses.