Factors Influencing Documentation in Nursing Care by Nurses at the Federal Medical Centre, Apir, Benue State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31674/mjn.2024.v16i02.007Abstract
Introduction: Nursing documentation should meet specific and comprehensive standards to achieve its goals, including effective communication, education, research, monitoring, and evaluation within the healthcare system. It should also ensure the collection of essential patient information based on established principles. This study investigated the factors that influence nursing documentation practices at the Federal Medical Centre in Apir, Benue State, Nigeria. The lack of national and local guidelines on nursing documentation has resulted in substandard practices among Nigerian nurses. Methods: The study employed an analytical cross-sectional design. There were 102 participants with a 99.7% response rate. Results: The practice of nursing care documentation was found to be inadequate. The practice of nursing care documentation was significantly linked to not having enough documentation sheets (AOR = 3.271, 95% CI = 1.125–23.704), not having enough time (AOR = 2.205, 95% CI=1.101–3.413), and not meeting the operational standard of nursing documentation (AOR = 2.015, 95% CI = 1.205–3.70). The results also highlight that while nurses recognise the importance of accurate documentation, several barriers, such as workload, inadequate training, and a lack of resources, hinder effective practice. Finally, more than half of nurses did not document their nursing care. Conclusion: The study concludes that addressing these barriers through targeted interventions could significantly improve documentation quality, thereby enhancing patient care outcomes. Agencies employing nurses must ensure to train them for proper nursing care documentation to improve knowledge and foster awareness among healthcare workers about accurate and thorough documentation practices. This will enable nursing directors and chief executive officers to access adequate documenting supplies, in addition to employing more competent and qualified nurses.
Keywords:
Documentation, Federal Medical Centre Knowledge, Nurses Attitude, Nursing PracticeDownloads
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