The effect of simulation-based education on childhood epileptic seizure management knowledge, skills, and attitudes of nursing students.

Background: Lack of knowledge about epileptic seizure management and negative attitudes toward children with epilepsy among nursing students may negatively affect the quality of healthcare services they deliver.

Aim: This study aimed to examine the effect of training given to nursing students using simulation and standard child mannequins on their childhood epileptic seizure management knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Methods: Participants (n = 72) were recruited from a Nursing Faculty in Izmir, Turkey. Students were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups (n = 36 in each). The intervention group received simulation-based training on epilepsy while the control group received standard child mannequin training on epilepsy. One week after the training, the students were asked to demonstrate their epileptic seizure management knowledge and skills on a simulation model or a standard child mannequin. During this process, they were observed and assessed by two independent observers on the basis of a list of epileptic seizure management skills. All participants completed the personal information form, the Epilepsy and Epileptic Seizure Management Knowledge Test, and the Epilepsy Knowledge and Attitude Scale before, and after the training, McNemar's test, repeated measure ANOVA (intravenous), dependent t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation analysis, and Pearson's chi-square test were used to compare the groups. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the consistency between observers.

Results: The epilepsy knowledge scale mean scores of both groups significantly increased after their respective trainings (p < 0.001), but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.829). There was no statistically significant difference between the pre- and posttraining epilepsy attitude scale mean scores of the control group (p = 0.630), however, a statistically significant increase was observed in the epilepsy attitude scale mean score of the intervention group (p = 0.008). In addition, both groups' self-confidence in epileptic seizure management significantly increased after the training (p = 0.000).

Conclusions: Simulation-based training was beneficial for students insofar as it helped them to develop positive attitudes toward epilepsy.