Abstract
BackgroundPressure ulcers are common conditions among hospitalized patients and impose substantial burden on patients and their caregivers. To assess the knowledge and attitudes of health professionals towards PUs prevention. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in the rehabilitation hospital at King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2014. The study population consisted of nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physical medicine rehabilitation physicians who have a minimum of at least one year of clinical practice. The survey that was created for use in this study consisted of demographic characteristics, Pressure Ulcers Knowledge Test and Staff Attitude Scale.ResultsThe survey was completed by 105 participants of the 120 total eligible staff. The mean knowledge score of correct answers from all participants was 34.1 ± 4.8 (71.5 %). Only 77(73.3 %) participants had a mean knowledge score of ≥ 70 %. The mean attitude score was 30.5 (56.5 %). The study revealed that age and profession factors had a significant relationship with participants’ mean knowledge of PUs prevention (P < 0.001), (P < 0.001) respectively. Moreover, 101 (98.1 %) participants are concerned about PUs prevention in their practices. While, 11 (10.7 %) of participants believe that PUs prevention is a time consuming procedure.ConclusionsThe present study assessed the current knowledge and attitudes of health professionals regarding PUs prevention in an acute rehabilitation hospital. The majority of participants had an average level of knowledge and exhibited unsatisfactory attitudes towards PUs prevention. Increased health professionals awareness may improve their attitudes towards PUs prevention.
Highlights
Pressure ulcers are common conditions among hospitalized patients and impose substantial burden on patients and their caregivers
Study population The study population comprised of all the nurses, physical therapists (PT), occupational therapists (OT), and physical medicine in rehabilitation (PMR) of both genders from the rehabilitation hospital that work directly with adult patients and have at least one year of clinical experience
The survey was completed by 105 participants of the 120 total eligible staff who provide direct bedside care for patients from the rehabilitation hospital, and a response rate of 87.8 % was achieved
Summary
Pressure ulcers are common conditions among hospitalized patients and impose substantial burden on patients and their caregivers. To assess the knowledge and attitudes of health professionals towards PUs prevention. The survey that was created for use in this study consisted of demographic characteristics, Pressure Ulcers Knowledge Test and Staff Attitude Scale. Pressure ulcers (PUs) are common conditions among hospitalized patients and impose substantial burden on patients and their caregivers. Almost 1.7 million patients develop PUs per year [3]. Lack of knowledge and skills in PUs prevention contributes substantially to the occurrence or deterioration. Evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of PUs have been developed extensively and have been supported globally, the problem is still widely spread in health care facilities around the world
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