Determining the pressure injury and staging knowledge of nurses at a hospital in Turkey

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this research is to examine the nurses’s knowledge level regarding pressure injury and its staging. Materials and methods: The research was conducted in descriptive type. The data were collected at a hospital in Konya between September 1 and November 30, 2021. The sample of the study consisted of 158 nurses working in internal clinics, surgical clinics and intensive care units. “Sociodemographic Questionnaire Form” and “Modified Pieper Pressure Wound Knowledge Test (PUKT)" were used to collect data. Percentage, frequency, arithmetic mean, independent sample t-test and ANOVA tests were used to analyze the data. Results: It was found that 77.2% of the nurses had encountered pressure injuries and 63.1%had received training on pressure injuries. It was determined that 55.1% of them received this training as in-service training in the hospital. 96.8% of the nurses stated that pressure injury could be prevented with nursing care. The mean PUKT score of the nurses was 30.70 ± 7.15; staging mean score was 4.79 ± 1.87, wound description mean score was 4.43 ± 1.88; prevention/risk assessment score mean was determined as 20.78 ± 3.93. The average score ob- tained with the correct response rates to the test was 62.67%. There was no significant difference between nurses’ education levels, years of employment and PUKT, wound description, staging and prevention/risk scores (p > .05). There was a significant difference between the mean PUKT score and staging mean score between those who received training on pressure injury and those who didn’t, and between the units where the nurses worked and the mean PUKT score, wound description, staging and prevention/risk scores (p < .05). Conclusion: It was found that the nurses’s knowledge level was below satisfactory. It’s recommended for nurses to attend trainings on pressure injury, to check the effectiveness of their training, to participate in scientific meetings and to encourage nurses to make research.