Lecture-based education versus simulation in educating student nurses about central line-associated bloodstream infection-prevention guidelines.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention published central line-associated bloodstream infection-prevention guidelines to prevent complications and improve the quality of care; however, it is not known whether student nurses receive education about these guidelines or what is the best approach to this education. This study aimed to assess student nurses' knowledge of central line-associated bloodstream infection-prevention guidelines and to compare the effectiveness of simulation versus classroom lecturing in educating them with these prevention guidelines. It used a two-arm randomized controlled trial design with pre-post tests. It was conducted at two public universities in Jordan, with a total of 131 fourth-year student nurses as participants. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (receiving classroom lectures) and the control group (receiving a simulation course). Pretest and posttest data were collected using a structured questionnaire of 23 items. The overall knowledge scores in the pretest were poor with no statistically significant difference between the two groups. In the posttest, both groups showed improvement in the majority of items. The participants in the classroom lectures group scored slightly higher in the majority of items in the posttest; however, there was no statistically significant difference in the overall scores t (129) = 1.03, P = (.57), (95% confidence interval = -1.9 to 4.3). Focusing on the elements related to clinical skills and decision-making would help to make lecture-based education an effective alternative to simulation, especially in universities and nursing schools with limited budgets.