Authors (including presenting author) :
Fung PM(1), Kwok CC(1), Cheung YC(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital at Sandy Bay
Keyword 2: :
Halo Fixation
Keyword 3: :
Halo Traction
Keyword 4: :
Educational Program
Introduction :
Orthopaedic & Traumatology Department in Sandy Bay Hospitals identified a gap in nurses’ familiarity and confidence in managing patients with halo ring fixation and traction. In current practice, occupational therapists often assist in the initial system setup, resulting in limited opportunities for nurses to gain hands-on experience. Baseline demographic data revealed that nurses with fewer years of experience (< 5 years) scored significantly lower on pre-test assessments, which is evidenced by positive Pearson's correlation, p< 0.001. Given that approximately 30% of nurses in the unit fall into this group. Besides, 8 articles were searched by performing literature review. Synthesis confirms nursing competency in halo fixation is essential for patient safety. A structured competency-based training program was developed to strengthen nursing knowledge, skills, and emergency readiness, ensuring patient safety and consistent care standards.
Objectives :
To enhance the competency of orthopaedic nurses in Sandy Bay Hospitals, including the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital at Sandy Bay, TWGHs Fung Yiu King Hospitals, and MacLehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre, providing safe, independent, and evidence-based care for patients with halo ring fixation and traction through structured education, hands-on skill training, and compliance audit.
Methodology :
1. Planning Phase: To identify learning needs via pre-test and baseline observation, to develop evidence-based workshop content referencing HAHO & SAG guidelines and literature review by current articles. 2. Implementation Phase: To conduct an interactive training workshop covering halo system setup, pin-site care, logroll turning, and transfer techniques, and to include hands-on practice session. 3. Evaluation Phase To conduct pre- and post-tests to assess knowledge gain, to perform skills audit within 4 weeks post-training, to collect staff satisfaction survey data to assess program relevance, and to analyze results using SPSS (paired t-test for outcomes and Pearson's correlation for demographic analysis). 4. Sustainability Phase To integrate halo fixation care into annual nursing competency training and to conduct periodic re-audits for ongoing compliance.
Result & Outcome :
Upon completion of program, participants are expected to improve knowledge with statistically significant increase in post-test scores compared to pre-test by paired t-test, to achieve 100% compliance in skills audit on halo care and logroll turning, and to achieve > 90% positive feedback on satisfaction & confidence, through satisfaction survey. 47 O&T nurses from Sandy Bay Hospitals were participated in the educational program. Knowledge was improved by post-test scores increases on average from 63.4 to 95.1 (+31.7%) and showing statistically significant results in score gain with p< 0.001. For staff satisfaction, 96.2% of staff rated “agree” or above from all survey questions, 98% agreed the program is practical to work, 98% agreed the arrangement and duration of program is appropriate. Overall, 94% of participants satisfied with overall program and they generally think hands-on session is very practical and interactive. For clinical skill competency, two in-house audits were performed by cross ward auditors, which are halo fixation care and logroll turning. 100% compliance was achieved from both audits.
