Knowledge And Practice Of Nurses Towards Prevention Of Pressure Ulcer And Related Factors

Introduction: Pressure ulcers are the common conditions among patients hospitalized in acute and chronic care facilities and impose significant burden on patients, their relatives and caregivers. Pressure ulcers have been described as one of the most costly and physically debilitating complications since the 20th century. The pain and discomfort due to pressure ulcer prolongs illness, rehabilitation, time of discharge and even contribute to disability and death. This study was aimed to Methods: this study is a systematic review article by surveying articles of databases and credible scientific websites include Google scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Science direct and Medline with Mesh keywords Pressure ulcer, nurse, Knowledge, practice, prevention. We used a combination of key-words and subject headings. It was conducted during 2008 – 2018. Results: Nearly half (54.4 %) of the nurses had good knowledge; similarly 48.4 % of them had good practice on prevention of pressure ulcer. Educational status [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.4, 95 % CI (1.39-4.15)], work experience [AOR = 4.8, 95 % CI (1.31-10.62)] and having formal training [AOR = 4.1, 95 % CI (1.29-9.92)] were significantly associated with knowledge on prevention of pressure ulcer. Heavy workload and inadequate staff (lack of tie) (83.1%), shortage of resources/equipment (67.7%) and inadequate training (63.2%) were among the major barriers identified in the study. Conclusions: Knowledge and practice of the nurses regarding prevention of pressure ulcer was found to be inadequate. Having higher educational status, attending formal training and being experienced were positively associated with knowledge; while shortage of facilities and equipments, Heavy workload, inadequate training and inadequate staff number showed negative association with practice of nurse s pressure ulcer prevention. In-service training and upgrading courses are some of the important steps to improve nurses knowledge and practice on prevention of ulcer pressure.

Keywords:

Pressure ulcer , Nurse , Knowledge , Practice , Prevention