Effect of Training Program on Emotional Intelligence of Nurses Caring for Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Context: Nurses are the cornerstone of the health care systems, and their work is associated with great pressure, and nurses are often overwhelmed. Emotional intelligence and its significance to nursing have been increasingly emphasized throughout the last few years. Emotional intelligence comprises a deposit of interrelated skills involving a capability to appraise one's emotions and those of others, utilization and regulation of one's emotions, and social skills. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of training program on the emotional intelligence of nurses caring for patients with Alzheimer's. Methods: A quasi-experimental (pre/post-test) design was used. The study was conducted at the geriatric units of Ain Shams University Hospitals and the geriatric department of Abassia Hospital, affiliated with the Ministry of Health. A study employs convenience sampling with a total number of 70 nursing staff who are working in the mentioned setting. Tools used for data collection were a self-administered questionnaire including two parts; part one concerned with sociodemographic characteristics of the studied nurses, and part two included the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) to assess emotional intelligence in managing the workplace. Results: The current study reveals that pre-program, 5.7% of the studied nurses have a high level of EI scores compared to about one quarter (22.9%) of the studied nurses who had a high level at post implementation of the program and increased to less than three quarters (71.4%) at follow up the program with a highly statistically significant difference between the levels of nurses’ emotional intelligence (p<0.001) comparing between pre-intervention and follow-up. Conclusion: Emotional intelligence training program positively improves emotional intelligence levels among nurses caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The study recommended that hospitals provide continuous in-service training, education, and awareness programs for nursing staff to enhance their skills regarding emotional intelligence. Nursing emotional intelligence skills should be included in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing curricula.