Abstract

Introduction: Nurses play an important role in providing decision coaching (DC) and developing informed decision-making in families of patients hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs). Therefore, taking necessary measures to develop nurses' DC skills is essential. The present study was conducted to analyze the application of the Ottawa Decision Support Framework (ODSF) in developing Iranian nurses' DC skills. Methodology: In this experimental pretest-posttest study, two hospitals (Imam Reza and Shahid Kamyab hospitals) in the city of Mashhad were randomly placed in either the experimental or the control group. Based on a simple random sampling method, 60 ICU nurses were selected. For nurses in the experimental group, a 2-day workshop was conducted based on the ODSF, whereas nurses in the control group received no intervention. Using the SPSS-16 software and statistical tests of paired-samples t-test, independent-samples t-test, and Chi-square test (p < 0.05), the data were analyzed. Results: Before the intervention, no difference was observed in the mean DC scores obtained by the nurses in the experimental and control groups (p = 0.891). However, after the intervention, a significant difference was observed in the mean DC scores obtained by the nurses in the experimental and control groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The results indicated that applying the ODSF is effective in improving Iranian nurses'DC skills. It was also indicated that the concepts presented in this framework are consistent with Iranian nurses' cultural backgrounds. Accordingly, the application of the ODSF is offered in Iranian nurses' continuing education programs to improve their DC skills.