Readiness of Final-Year Nursing Students Towards Giving Health Education to Caregivers of Critically Ill Clients After Transfer Out of ICU

Introduction: Critically ill patients of ten require complex care even af ter discharge f rom the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and caregivers become crucial in providing continuous care at home. Preparing nursing students to educate these caregivers is essential to ensuring quality patient outcomes.Objective: This study aimed to assess the readiness of f inal-year nursing students in providing health education to caregivers of critically ill patients f ollowing ICU discharge, f ocusing on their knowledge, skills and awareness, and conf idence. The study also examined whether gender had a signif icant association with these competencies.Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed, targeting 102 f inal-year nursing students at IIUM Kuantan. Participants were recruited using census sampling. Data collection was conducted f rom March to April 2025 through a self-administered online survey consisting of the Health Education Competency Instrument (I-Cepse) and the Casey-Fink Readiness f or Practice Survey. Statistical analysis was perf ormed using SPSS Version 27 f or descriptive and inf erential statistics, including chi-square tests. Results: Most students demonstrated high levels of knowledge (78.4%) and conf idence (73.5%).