Determination of the Knowledge Level of Surgical Intensive Care Nurses in Medical Device Induced Pressure Injury

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to measure the level of knowledge and attitudes of nurses in surgical intensive care units (ICUs) about medical device-induced pressure injury. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted with 227 surgical intensive care nurses in Turkey between November 2022 and June 2023. “Nurse Introduction Form” and “Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Level Assessment Tool Scale” were used as data collection tools. Since the scale score averages did not comply with normal distribution, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were used in the statistical analysis of the data. Results: It was found that the majority of participants (n=227) were in the age range of 26-33 years (n=115), and 66.1% (n=113) had been working in the ICU for 1-5 years. 51.5% (n=117) of the participants reported having received training in medical device-related pressure injury. In the pressure ulcer knowledge level assessment tool, the mean of the "prevention of pressure ulcers" sub-dimension (mean: 4.74) was found to be the highest, while the total knowledge level score was 14.87±5.6 and it was found that the nurses had a moderate level of knowledge. Conclusion: The findings of the study indicated that nurses' knowledge of medical device-related pressure injuries was inadequate, but that their knowledge of pressure injury prevention increased with increasing levels of education.