Inhaler Training to Enhance Nurses' Competency in Patient Inhaler Education

Nurses play a pivotal role in assessing, educating, and regularly reviewing patients' inhaler techniques. However, inadequate knowledge and skills among nurses can hinder their ability to accurately assess patients' inhaler technique or provide effective guidance to those receiving inhaler therapy. This project aims to develop an effective educational tool/program on inhaler education for healthcare workers and nurses.

This is an assessor-blinded, two-armed randomized controlled trial with a 4-month follow-up. The study will be conducted at a training institute of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, the Institute of Advanced Nursing Studies. The intervention consists of a theory-based, face-to-face inhaler training workshop grounded in Social Learning Theory. The workshop integrates cognitive aids, hands-on demonstrations, and competency assessments using a standardized checklist. To support ongoing learning, participants will receive follow-up instructional videos and periodic reminders to reinforce and maintain their skills in patient inhaler education.

Questionnaires will be used to collect participants' demographic information and knowledge and skills regarding inhaler use at baseline, immediate post-training session and 4-month follow-up. Qualitative feedback from trainees will be collected.