EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A DISCHARGE PROTOCOL FOR STAFF NURSES CARING FOR MENTALLY ILL PATIENTS

The main aim of the study was to assess the practice of discharge procedure among the staff nurses and to prepare a discharge protocol to improve the nursing practice in psychiatric wards. Guidelines of practice with rationale were given through the protocol which included step wise procedure during the discharge of mentally ill patient. Objectives: To identify the practices followed by the nurses during the discharge procedure of mentally ill patient by an observation check list & to determine the effectiveness of protocol in terms of gain in practice score. Setting: Study has done in Father Muller Medical College Psychiatric ward in India. Method: An evaluatory approach with one group pre-test and posttest design was adopted for the study. The data was collected by administering a structured observation check list by the investigator before and after implementation of protocol. Result: The result of the study showed there is significant difference in the mean pre-test score with mean of (5.2) and post-test (25.5). Conclusion: The result suggested that the protocol was effective in improving the practice of the staff nurses regarding the discharge procedure. Majority of staff nurses were not aware of the proper discharge procedure and the findings of the study support the need for protocols and educational programmes to improve the practice in staff nurses. Educating the staff nurses with new information can help them to educate the patient and the relatives to prevent complications and readmissions.