Intensive care nurses' knowledge of enteral nutrition at public hospitals in Sana'a, Yemen: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background: Nurses have a pivotal role in initiating and managing enteral nutrition (EN) and monitoring any potential complications. Yet, it is unclear whether Yemeni nurses have adequate knowledge to deliver and manage enteral nutrition safely. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the level of ICU nurses’ knowledge regarding the management of EN. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2019 to March 2019. A probability sampling method was used to recruit 174 nurses from four public hospitals in the capital city of Yemen. A self-administered 17-item questionnaire related to ICU nurses' knowledge regarding EN intervention was used to collect the data. Results: Out of the 174 respondents, 60.9% were females, 48.9% were aged between 20 and 25 years and 66.1% had a 3-year nursing diploma. Most respondents (79.3%) had one to five years of working experience as nurses, while almost two-thirds (70.7%) had one to five years of working experience as an ICU nurse. Above half (59.2%) of the respondents had never attended training courses on EN management and 65.5% specified that the college or institute of nursing was the source for their knowledge about EN management. Only 10.9% of the respondents had an adequate level of knowledge, while (43.1%) of them had a moderate level of knowledge and 46.0% of them had an inadequate level of knowledge regarding the EN management. Significant associations between the level of ICU nurses' knowledge of EN management and their level of education and the sources of knowledge were detected. Conclusions: The significant gap in ICU nurses’ knowledge regarding EN management identified implies the need to upgrade and refresh of the ICU nurses' knowledge by implementing a regular training program concerning EN management.