Knowledge, Practice and Associated Factors of Adult Intensive Care Nurses’ on Prevention of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in Addis Ababa Public Hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Pneumonia is amongst the most leading cause of death in developing world where Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is common among patients on mechanical ventilation/ intubation post hospitalization, and it is 6-20 times higher among patients in critical / intensive care units. Multiple factors were identified in different literatures for its occurrences. Poor nurses’ knowledge and practices were repetitively reported from public hospitals in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to assess knowledge, practice and associated factors of Adult Intensive Care nurses’ on prevention of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) in selected Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A Facility based cross-sectional and observational study was conducted on 129 Adult Intensive Care nurses using self-administered questionnaire and observational checklist. The study shows that, Out of 129 respondents, 78 (60.5%) were females, 73 (56.6%) had diploma. There was a significant difference in knowledge between trained and non-trained adult intensive care nurses as found (p value = 0.04) and as increased educational level (p value = 0.021). Significant difference in practice was found between ICU nurses who had ICU training (p value = 0.038) and between nurses with different years of working experiences (p value = 0.033). Thus, the study reveals that majority of nurses working in the Adult Intensive Care Units had inadequate knowledge and practice.