Pressure Injury Knowledge in Critical Care Nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Critical Care
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Pressure injuries represent a significant patient safety concern in critical care settings.
• Multimodal education initiatives aim to enhance nurses' knowledge and practice regarding pressure injury prevention and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the pressure injury knowledge of critical care nurses concerning prevention and staging after participating in multimodal education.
• To identify specific knowledge gaps that require further educational intervention.

Main Methods:

• A postintervention descriptive study design was employed.
• 32 critical care registered nurses (RNs) completed the Pieper-Zulkowski Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test (PZ-PUKT).
• Data analysis included calculating cumulative and subscale scores for prevention and staging, and Pearson correlations were used to explore associations with nurse characteristics.

Main Results:

• Nurses achieved an average cumulative score of 51.66% (72%) on the PZ-PUKT.
• Knowledge regarding pressure injury staging (81%) was higher than that related to prevention (70%).
• Younger nurses with less experience and those in medical intensive care units demonstrated higher staging scores.

Conclusions:

• Significant knowledge gaps persist in pressure injury prevention among critical care nurses.
• Educational strategies should focus on reinforcing prevention principles to complement existing staging knowledge.
• Findings can guide the development of targeted educational programs to enhance pressure injury prevention initiatives.