The Development of the COVID 2019 Screening Guideline in Acute Respiratory Infection Clinic, Sakaeo Crown Prince Hospital Province

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to develop the COVID 2019 screening guideline and examine the outcomes after applying the guideline, Sakaeo Crown Prince Hospital. This guideline included four stages: 1) study the context; 2) develop disease screening guidelines;  3) implement a guideline in a clinic; and 4) evaluate the outcomes. Participants were 30 registered nurses who worked in an acute respiratory infection clinic. Data instruments included a semi-structured questionnaire, a socio-demographic questionnaire, a knowledge assessment, a clinical practice questionnaire, and a satisfaction questionnaire on the guideline. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and a paired t-test.

The results showed that the COVID 2019 screening guidelines included seven elements: 1) preparing knowledge about COVID 2019, 2) improving communication between patients and healthcare providers, 3) determining roles and responsibilities, and operational teams, 4) preparing settings and equipment, 5) screening patients into the system, 6) organizing a screening program, and 7) referring a patient to the infectious diseases department. After applying this guideline, the mean scores of knowledges, practice procedures, and satisfaction on the guideline were significantly higher than before applying the program (p-value<0.001). It can be concluded that this guideline is effective for improving the knowledge, practice procedures, and satisfaction levels of registered nurses. Then, this guideline could be applied in a respiratory infection clinic in order to provide an effective screening system for COVID 2019.