Case management educational intervention with public health nurses: cluster randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Previous continuing professional education for case management lacked robust evidence of effectiveness.
• Methodological weaknesses in prior studies included small sample sizes and absence of control groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a community case management collaborative education intervention.
• To assess participant satisfaction, learning, and performance among public health nurses.

Main Methods:

• A cluster randomized controlled trial involving 163 public health nurses in Taiwan.
• Intervention group received four half-day workshops; control group did not.
• Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance used for outcome evaluation.

Main Results:

• High participant satisfaction (97%) in the experimental group.
• Statistically significant improvements in knowledge (P = 0.001) and confidence (P = 0.001).
• Enhanced preparedness for case manager roles (P = 0.001) and increased skill utilization (P = 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Collaborative education between academic and clinical nurses is effective.
• The intervention successfully prepared nurses for evolving roles.
• Community-based case management education enhances nursing practice.