The influence of the online education provided using the six thinking hat method on the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students regarding pressure injury prevention; a pilot study.

AIM: The study aims to investigate the influence of the online education given to nursing undergraduate students using the Six Thinking Hat Method (STHM) on their knowledge and attitudes related to pressure injury (PI) prevention.

METHODS: This pilot study was conducted between March-June 2023. The research sample consists of 25 participants in the intervention group and 25 in the control group. The intervention group received an online education carried out utilizing the STHM. Data were collected using the Student Demographic Information Form, the Turkish version of the Pressure Injury Knowledge Assessment Tool 2.0 (PIKAT 2.0-Tr), and the Attitude Towards the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Instrument (APuP).

RESULTS: While there was no significant difference between the PIKAT 2.0-Tr and APuP mean scores of the groups at the pre-test measurements (p > 0.05), a difference was observed in favor of the intervention group in the first month (post-test 1) and third month (post-test 2) measurements (p < 0.05). The education provided through the STHM resulted in a meaningful and moderate effect, with an 11.7% increase in the PIKAT 2.0-Tr scores (η2 = 0.117; p = 0.003) and a substantial 29.5% increase in the APuP scores (η2 = 0.295; p = 0.000) for the students in the intervention group.

CONCLUSION: It has been determined that the STHM, as an active teaching method, increases students' knowledge levels on PI prevention, supports the retention of knowledge, and enhances their attitudes. The STHM can be incorporated into nursing education as one of the innovative teaching methods.