Attitudes of Registered Nurses toward health promotion/disease prevention: Evaluation of a National program

This two-group, before-after, quasi-experimental study was designed to determine if RNs who completed a 30-hour health promotion/disease prevention curriculum recorded higher attitude scores toward health promotion/disease prevention and incorporated these attitudes with selected health behaviors when compared with RNs who did not complete the course. The curriculum was developed and piloted at TWU for the Division of Nursing, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A total of 98 RNs attended the course, completed and returned usable questionnaires (experimental group). All 98 RNs identified a colleague in their work settings to serve as a control subject; 32 control group RNs completed and returned usable questionnaires. To further examine the data, scores from 29 participant and colleague-selected pairs were compared to scores of the total sample.

Demographic data sheet results described the sample. Using descriptive and inferential statistics, scores from the Attitude Toward Health Promotion (Holcomb & Mullen, 1986) instrument were used to analyze the five hypotheses; significant findings emerged from two hypotheses. For H1, a two-way ANOVA yielded a significant ($p\le .05$) difference within the groups. There was a significant increase in attitude scores between pretests and posttests. There was a difference in attitude scores in the experimental and control groups. This increase in scores remained a constant. For H3, Spearman rho rank order correlation coefficient and point biserial analyses yielded a positive significant ($p\le .05$) relationship related to the attitudes--importance of use of seat belts, confidence in ability to convey information and useful skills about use of seat belts--and the selected health behavior of the use of seat belts by the RNs. A positive significant ($p\le .05$) relationship was found in the attitudes--confidence in ability to convey information and useful skills about exercise three times per week and adherence expectation that, if information and useful skills are conveyed about exercise three times per week, clients will follow through--and the selected personal health behavior of personal exercise three times a week by the RNs.