Intensive care nurses' knowledge of pressure injury prevention

Pressure injuries (PIs) remain a significant public health concern due to their high prevalence among critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Despite advancements in science and technology related to PI prevention, the prevalence continues to rise. A key factor contributing to this rise is inadequate knowledge and limited use of evidence-based practices by nurses, resulting in prolonged hospital stays and poor patient outcomes. This study aimed to determine the knowledge of intensive care nurses regarding pressure injury prevention.

A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 101 nurses working in four ICUs at an academic hospital in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The revised Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Assessment Tool (PUKAT 2.0) was utilized to gather data from a convenience sample of intensive care nurses. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data, with statistical tests including the Shapiro-Wilk test, univariate and multivariate linear regression, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient tests. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The mean knowledge score of the nurses (N = 101) was 42.16% (SD 12.09), indicating poor knowledge of PI prevention. The lowest scores were observed in the areas of "prevention of pressure injuries" (25%) and "classification and observation" (39.5%). Higher levels of education (14.00; 95% CI 2.90-25.11; p = 0.014), seniority (15.58; 95% CI 2.92-28.24; p = 0.016), and years of experience (6.38; 95% CI 9.70-5.45; p = 0.039) were statistically significant predictors of better prevention and management of PI.

The findings of this study demonstrate that intensive care nurses have poor knowledge of prevention measures, classification, and observation of stages. This may hinder their ability to effectively utilize risk assessment tools in clinical practice. Improving training and providing intensive care nurses with adequate information about evidence-based practices to prevent PI could strengthen their contribution to patient safety. These findings underscore the need for continuous, mandatory training programs for intensive care nurses to stay updated with the latest evidence and practices in PI prevention.