AbstractAn evaluative study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of self-instructional module (SIM) regarding knowledge and practices of chest physiotherapy on children suffering with respiratory conditions among nurses working pediatric wards of selected hospitals of Belgaum city, Karnataka. Totally 45 staff nurses were selected by non-probability purposive sampling technique. The knowledge and practice were assessed by using structured knowledge Questionnaire and observational checklist. The study results reveal that during pre-test, 11(24.44%) had good knowledge & 8 (17.77%) had good practice scores, 23 (51.11%) had an average knowledge & 32 (71.11%) had an average practice scores; and 11 (24.44%) had poor knowledge & 5 (11.11%) had poor practice scores on chest physiotherapy. After introduction of the SIM, All the nurses (100%) had good knowledge and 40 (88.88%) had good practice scores; 4(8.88%) had average practice scores and only 1(2.22%) fall in poor category. The pre-test results revealed that, there is a positive correlation between the variables i.e. knowledge and practice. Probability values of X2 contingency table revealed that the gain in knowledge & practice scores and socio demographic variables are independent. This means that gain in knowledge & practice scores has nothing to do with socio demographic variables of staff nurses. The study findings concluded that SIM on chest physiotherapy is effective in improving the knowledge and practices of nurses. The study also revealed that there is positive correlation between the knowledge and practices of nurses regarding chest physiotherapy.
Keywords: Self-Instructional Module (SIM); Chest Physiotherapy; Respiratory Conditions.