Knowledge of Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units in Relation to Preventive Interventions for Pressure Ulcer

Background: In intensive care units where there is high risk of development of pressure ulcer, it is very important for nurses to have a good level of knowledge about pressure ulcer and to reflect this knowledge in their caring practices. This study aims to identify knowledge of nurses working in intensive care units in relation to preventing pressure ulcer. Method: Target population of this study, which is descriptive and cross sectional in nature is all nurses working in the Adult Intensive Care Units of a university hospital located in Adana/Turkey. The study was completed with the participation of a total number of 73 nurses. The data were collected using “Personal Information Form” and “Pressure Ulcer Preventive Interventions Information Form” and “Pressure Ulcer Treatment: Quick Reference guide”. Results: Nurses’ total mean scores about preventive interventions for pressure ulcer was found 34.97±4.43 (min:24, max: 50) on the average. Majority of them (68.5%) had undergraduate degree and 43.8% worked in the intensive care unit between 2 and 6 years. Percentages of correct responses to the sub-titles about preventive interventions for pressure ulcer was 75% for “Risk Assessment”, 72.9% for “Assessment of the Skin”, 56.9 % for “Positioning and Movements”, 85.9% for “Regulating Nutrition”, 55.4% for “Use of Support Surfaces”, 98.6% for “Education”, and 99.3% for “Keeping Records” and 66.7% for “Special Patient Groups”. No statistically significant differences were detected between nurses’ mean scores for knowledge about preventive interventions for pressure ulcer and variables such as their age, education level, years of experience, and duration of working in the intensive care unit (p>0,05). Conclusions: The findings of the present study show that the majority of the participants’ knowledge about the preventive interventions for pressure ulcer was good. Percentages of correct responses in the “Education” and “Keeping Records” areas were found to be higher than the other areas.