Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Nurses towards Prevention of Pressure Ulcer in Saint Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa,Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract Back ground: The presence or absence of pressure ulcers has been generally regarded as a performance measure of quality nursing care and overall patient health. The burden of living with pressure ulcers (PUs) significantly limit many aspects of an individual’s well-being, including general health and physical, social, financial, and psychological quality of life. Lack of knowledge and skills, and negative attitudes in PU prevention contributes significantly to the occurrence or worsening of PU. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine nurses’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards pressure ulcer prevention in SPHMMC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2018. Methodology: Structured self-administered questionnaire using institutional based cross sectional study design and quantitative method was employed to collect data from staff nurses (N=632) working SPHMMC, 2018. Sample size was determined by Simple Random Sampling. Data was collected after ethical clearance was obtained from SPHMMC public health department. The purpose of the research was explained to the respondents before conducting the interview. Result:- A total of 220 professional nurses were invited to participate in the study, and the response rate was 96.4%. Among 220 nurses 144 (69.2%) and 64 (30.8%) were females and males, respectively. In this study, 43.3% of the nurses that participated in this study had adequate knowledge,45.2% of the nurses’ attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention was positive, and Overall, 83(39.9%) of the nurses had good practice regarding prevention of pressure ulcers. In conclusion, the majority of nurses currently working in SPHMMC have inadequate knowledge, negative attitude and poor practice regarding PU prevention. The duration of working experience had significant association with nurses’ Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding prevention of pressure ulcer. Similarly the study reported that heavy workload and inadequate staff members, lack of universal guideline and inadequate training coverage regarding prevention of pressure ulcer, presence of other priorities than pressure ulcer are the dominant barriers nurses currently working in SPHMMC face to prevent pressure ulcer. Keywords: Nurses’ Pressure Ulcer Knowledge, pressure ulcer Attitude, pressure ulcer Practice