Impact of an Educational Program on Nursing Care of Neonates with Congenital Hypothyrodism

Background: Unrecognized congenital hypothyroidism (CH) leads to mental retardation. Newborn screening and thyroid therapy started within two weeks of age and effective nursing intervention can normalize cognitive development. Initial dosage of 10 to 15 mu g/kg Levothyroxine is recommended. Objectives: this study aims to assess nurses' knowledge regarding CH, to evaluate nurses' intervention offered to CH neonates and to determine the impact of educational program on nurses' performance regarding care of CH neonates. Design: A quasi experimental design was used in this study. Subjects and Methods: This study included 60 nurses whom were recruited from 3 maternal and child health units (MCH) at Zagazig city. Two tools were used to collect the necessary data: a structured interview sheet and observational checklist were used to assess nurses' performance. Results: It was found that total nurses' complete knowledge and practice score about hypothyroidism was poor (100\%) before program implementation and improved at post-test and this results was highly significant at 1\%. Conclusion: The nurses' performance significantly improved after program implementation. {[}Amal Mohamed El-Dakhakhny. Impact of an Educational Program on Nursing Care of Neonates with Congenital Hypothyrodism. Life Science Journal. 2011;8(1):134-144] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com.