Determining knowledge and attitudes related to pressure injury prevention among operating room nurses and associated...

To determine attitudes and levels of knowledge related to pressure injury (PI) prevention among operating room nurses and identify associated factors.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Turkey with a sample of 112 operating room nurses recruited by the snowball method of convenience sampling. Data were collected online via Google Forms using a nurse data collection form, the Knowledge of Operating Room Nurses about Pressure Injuries Form, and the Attitude Towards Pressure Ulcer Prevention Instrument (APuP).

The operating room nurses' mean score for PI knowledge was 52.19 ± 17.01 out of 100, and their mean total APuP score was 42.28 ± 5.19 out of 52. Knowledge about PIs was negatively associated with being male (β = -0.287, p < 0.001) and positively associated with intervening to prevent PIs during surgery (β = 0.214, p = 0.008), using international PI guidelines as a reference in the operating room (β = -0.225, p = 0.005), and APuP score (β=.415, p < 0.001). Intervening to prevent PIs during surgery (β = 0.294, p = 0.003) was a significant predictor of attitude toward PI prevention.

Our results indicate that overall, operating room nurses have insufficient knowledge but positive attitudes about PI prevention. Female gender, using international PI reference guides in the operating room, and positive attitude toward PI prevention were identified as factors associated with higher PI knowledge level, while intervening to prevent PIs during surgery was positively associated with both knowledge level and attitude toward PI prevention.