Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Ethical and Legal aspects in Assisted Reproductive Technology among Staff Nurses working in selected hospitals of Kamrup (M), Assam: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

The outcome of infertility will have its effect on different aspects of the life of the individual and nation. Assisted Reproductive technologies have been a boon in the unfortunate couple’s lives. Ethically, informed consent for clinical care is a process in which patients are supported in developing the understanding necessary to make a well-informed, voluntary, and autonomous decision in furtherance of their goals and values. Shared decision-making is a highly regarded approach to achieving informed consent. This process typically requires that the patient be aware of available alternatives, including no treatment. These alternatives must be presented and discussed without bias. Where information is lacking, particularly information about long-term outcomes, this must be explained carefully to patients. Patients must then consider which of the alternatives may best realize their values. The regulatory vacuum in the field of ART in India was filled when in December 2021, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (ART Act) and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 (SR Act) were passed. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Ethical and Legal aspects in Assisted Reproductive Technology among Staff Nurses working in selected hospitals of Kamrup (M), Assam. A Quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test post-test research design was used with a non-probability purposive sampling technique for obtaining an adequate sample for the study. The study was conducted at selected hospitals of Kamrup (M), Assam where 94 samples were collected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria. A Self-Structured Questionnaire was used to collect data to assess the Knowledge on Ethical and Legal aspects in Assisted Reproductive Technology, and data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result shows that the pre-test findings indicated that the majority of participants, 58 (61.7%), had inadequate knowledge, while 34 (36.2%) demonstrated moderately adequate knowledge, and only 2 (2.1%) exhibited adequate knowledge regarding the ethical and legal aspects of ART. The mean pre-test knowledge score was 10.50 ± 3.79, whereas the mean post-test score increased to 20.59 ± 1.69. The effectiveness of the Structured Teaching Programme (STP) was evaluated using a paired t-test, which yielded a statistically significant result (t = 21.933, p < 0.05). This indicates a significant improvement in knowledge scores from pre-test to post-test, demonstrating the effectiveness of the STP in enhancing knowledge regarding the ethical and legal aspects of ART among staff nurses and educational qualification showed a statistically significant association (p = 0.0001) at the 0.05 level of significance. The study concluded that, there was evident increase in the Knowledge after administration of Structured Teaching Programme on Ethical and Legal aspect in Assisted Reproductive Technology among Staff Nurses.