Effectiveness Of Structured Educational Intervention In Improving ICU Nurses' Attitudes And Clinical Practices For Deep Venous Thrombosis Prevention

Abstract

Background: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a potentially fatal but largely preventable complication that disproportionately affects intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Although ICU nurses are the primary implementers of DVT prophylaxis, significant deficits in attitudes and clinical practice persist, undermining the safety of patients. Structured educational interventions represent a promising strategy to address these gaps. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of a structured educational program in enhancing ICU nurses' attitudes and clinical practices related to DVT prevention, and to examine the relationship between these domains and nurses' demographic characteristics. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was employed with 140 ICU nurses equally divided into an intervention group (n = 70) and a control group (n = 70) across three teaching hospitals in Al-Najaf, Iraq. A three-session educational program was delivered to the intervention group. Attitudes and clinical practices were measured using validated instruments, both before and after the intervention Results: The intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in both attitude scores (2.06 ± 0.23 vs. 2.16 ± 0.23; t = 4.304, p < 0.001) and clinical performance (0.79 ± 0.26 vs. 1.46 ± 0.16; t = 54.032, p < 0.001), with 75.71% achieving good performance post-intervention compared to 4.29% at baseline. No meaningful changes were observed in the control group. Post-test Pearson's correlation revealed a weak, non-significant association between attitudes and clinical performance (r = −0.089, p = 0.463). Conclusion: The structured educational program significantly improved ICU nurses' attitudes and clinical performance in DVT prevention. The non-significant attitude–practice correlation likely reflects a ceiling effect and persistent organizational barriers, emphasizing that knowledge and attitude gains alone are insufficient without complementary institutional support and system-level strategies to improve practice.