ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Critical Care
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Strategies For Managing Childhood Pain And Pediatric Palliative CareView all 3 articles
Application of Kirkpatrick model in evaluation of training effect of nurses in the family participatory ward of neonatal intensive care unit
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan City, China
- 2Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of training for nurses in the family participatory ward of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using the Kirkpatrick model, providing insights for improving nurse training programs in family-integrated care (FICare). Methods: A self-before-after (pretest-posttest single-group pre-experimental) study was conducted with 48 NICU nurses undergoing family participatory ward training. The Kirkpatrick model was employed to assess training outcomes across four levels: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. Data were collected through satisfaction surveys, knowledge and skill assessments, core competence scales, caring ability scales, professional identity scales, and nursing quality assessments before and after training. All statistical tests were two-tailed, and a post-hoc power analysis (G*Power 3.1) showed a power of 0.92 for paired t-tests (α = 0.05, effect size = 0.5). Results: The overall satisfaction rate with the training was 93.8%. Post-training, nurses demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge and skills, core competence, caring ability (cognition and courage dimensions), and professional identity (p<0.05). Nursing quality also improved, with high scores in nurse-patient relationships and family satisfaction. Descriptive statistics for all pretest and posttest variables are presented in Table 8, and satisfaction rates (percentages) are clarified in Table 2. Conclusion: The training program effectively enhanced nurses' competencies, professional identity, and nursing quality, supporting the use of the Kirkpatrick model for evaluating and improving NICU nurse training in family participatory care.
Keywords: On-the-job training, Nursing education, Neonatal nurses, Family integrated care, TheKirkpatrick model
Received: 14 Aug 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shi, Dai, Zuo, Wu and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Genzhen Yu, yugenzhen2018@163.com
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