Nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pressure ulcer prevention in the Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Hospital Complex in 2016.

Master of Public Health. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2016.Introduction Pressure ulcers are a growing problem for health institutions worldwide. Increased length of stay, litigation, increased workload, and diminished quality of life of individuals are implications of pressure ulcers. Nurses require good knowledge, attitudes, and practices to implement effective pressure ulcer prevention strategies. The purpose of the study was to determine nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and practices of pressure ulcer prevention in the Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Hospital Complex in 2016. Methods The study was quantitative in nature and an observational, cross-sectional, descriptive design with an analytical component was implemented. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The two-sample t-test and analysis of variance were used to determine the relationships between demographic characteristics and knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pressure ulcer prevention. Results Nurses’ knowledge and practices of pressure ulcer prevention were unsatisfactory at 69.2% and 58.2% respectively whilst attitudes were satisfactory at 88.8%. The analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in knowledge in terms of rank, years of experience, previous PU knowledge and ward while the two-sample t-test revealed no significant difference in knowledge, attitudes and practices with gender. Conclusion Nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding pressure ulcer prevention are limited while their attitudes are positive. An intervention is required to educate and empower nurses to improve care. Keywords: attitude; knowledge; nurse; practice; pressure ulcer preventio