Strengthening Healthcare Service Delivery through Communities of Practice among Orthopedic Nurses in Federal Hospitals in Kano State, Nigeria

Background: This study investigates use of community of practice as a strategy for strengthening healthcare service delivery among orthopedic nurses working at some selected federal hospitals.

Aims: The specific objectives of the study targeted to investigate the level of awareness of Orthopedic Nurses about community of practice for knowledge sharing in Federal hospitals in Kano metropolis; and to determine the type of knowledge shared through Community of Practice by Orthopedic Nurses in the hospitals; as well as to find out how Community of Practice could improve healthcare delivery through knowledge sharing among Orthopedic Nurses in the Hospitals.

Place of Study: The study was conducted at National Orthopedic Hospital, Dala-Kano, Nigeria and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Nigeria from July 2018 to January, 2019.

Methodology: The study adopted quantitative research approach with a self-developed questionnaire that was validated using both content and face validity. A sample size of 134 from a population of 217 was drawn with response rate of 99.3%. The study hypotheses were tested using Chi Square and ANOVA tests using SPSS version 20.0.

Results: The study found that the level of awareness about community of practice was high. The findings show that tacit and explicit types of Knowledge were generated and shared through community of practice.

Conclusion: The study concludes that there is significant relationship between awareness and use of community of practice for knowledge sharing among orthopedic nurses in the hospitals under study. Similarly, the study concludes that the relationship between community of practice and knowledge sharing is reflected in job performance.