Abstract:

Objective To understand the current status of knowledge,attitude and practice of transitional care in head nurses of tertiary hospitals in Ningxia,and to explore the main influencing factors affecting the development of transitional care. Methods A convenience sampling was used to recruit 308 head nurses from 10 public tertiary hospitals in Ningxia. The nurses were investigated by the General Information Questionnaire,the Transitional Care Knowledge,Attitude and Practice Scale and the Influencing Factors of Transitional Care Practice. Results The total score of knowledge,attitude and practice of 308 head nurses was（144.34±21.29）,and the average score of total items was（4.13±0.61）,including knowledge dimension（3.96±0.74）,attitude dimension（4.47±0.59） and practice dimension（3.75±0.91）. There were significant differences regarding the total scores of head nurses in different levels of hospitals（P<0.05）. The main factors that affected the practice of transitional care included the communication between doctors and nurses and patient’s awareness of continued nursing,the responsibilities and roles of the members of the transitional care,the transitional care system and procedures,equipment and facilities,and inter-agency cooperation. Conclusion The total score of knowledge,attitude and practice of head nurses in tertiary hospitals is at the middle level. The attitude of the head nurses is positive,and the knowledge and practice need to be improved. There are many structural factors affecting the head nurses’ transitional care behavior. Hospital managers need to further improve the corresponding system,strengthen the cooperation between medical staff and institutions,and promote the development of transitional care services.

Key words: Questionnaires, Nurse Administrators, Health Knowledge,Attitudes,Practice, Transitional care