Optimizing Anesthetic Care for Jehovah’s Witnesses Regarding Alternatives to Blood Products

Abstract

Jehovah’s Witness are a vulnerable religious organization who have very strict beliefs when it comes to blood transfusions. In fact, they are well known to the healthcare community for refusing blood transfusions, even if it results in poor outcomes or death. Because the organization continues to grow in numbers, there is an increased chance that a Jehovah’s Witness patient will present for surgery where there is a high probability for acute blood loss. In order for the nurse anesthetist to develop an appropriate plan of care for this patient, it is important to have a clear understanding of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their beliefs. Furthermore, it is also vital to know what blood product alternatives and interventions are acceptable and available in order to provided ethically and culturally competent care. The goal of this scholarly project was to increase the knowledge base of AdventHealth University Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists (AHU SRNAs) in the 2019 cohort regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses and blood product alternatives and interventions acceptable for surgery. After synthesis of the literature review synthesis was completed, a pre-test was given to 22 AHU SRNAs; followed by a 30-minute educational PowerPoint presentation. A posttest was given immediately after the presentation and the results were analyze by a paired t-test in SPSS to determine if the presentation was effective in increasing knowledge base. The results from the statistical analysis revealed a significant increase in the students’ knowledge base following the presentation. It was concluded that the PowerPoint presentation was effective and therefore can lead to increased ethical and cultural competence among anesthesia providers who plan and implement anesthetic care for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

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