The level of awareness of the emergency department nurses of the triage principles in teaching hospitals

Context: Awareness of types of triage methods in different situations and locations is one of the most important needs of the medical staff, especially due to the high number of patients, and is necessary for nurses in the emergency department. 

Aims: This study aimed to determine the level of awareness of nurses working in the emergency department. 

Setting and Design: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted in 2017, the study population was all nurses working in the emergency departments of educational hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, who were included by the census method (n = 73).

Materials and Methods: The data collection tool included a questionnaire on individual characteristics and an assessment of the emergency department personnel’s awareness level of triage systems in Iran. 

Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using descriptive-inferential statistics in the SPSS version 16. 

Results: Totally 47 female nurses (64.4%) and 26 male nurses (35.6%), with a mean age of 30.37 ± 3.83, participated in the study. The results showed that 64 nurses (87.7%) had poor awareness, 9 nurses (12.3%) had a moderate awareness about different methods of triage, and the mean score of total knowledge of nurses was poor (20.75 ± 8). There was a significant statistical relationship between knowledge score and marital status, employment status, and teaching methods of triage principles (P < 0.05). 

Conclusion: Due to the employed nurses’ knowledge low score, it is necessary to organize training courses of the triage.