Nursing barrier care in the ICU

Barrier nursing care is one of the important methods falling under the area of prevention of nosocomial infections which should be known and adhered to by nurses during the execution of their work. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with nosocomial infections and the characteristics of intensive care and it explains the principles of barrier nursing care. The practical part of the thesis inquires into the nurses´ knowledge of the principles of barrier nursing care, the adherence to these principles and the aids needed for caretaking using the barrier nursing technique. The research inquiry was carried out using quantitative research method. Data collection was realised by a questionnaire. Three goals had been set. Goal 1: Finding out what knowledge the nurses working in intensive care departments have about the principles of barrier nursing care. Goal 2: Finding out what principles of barrier nursing care are adhered to by nurses working in intensive care departments. Goal 3: Finding out what problems nurses working in intensive care departments identify in terms of the adherence to the principles of barrier nursing care. To specify the goals, four hypotheses were laid out. Hypothesis 1 stating that nurses in intensive care departments know the principles of barrier nursing care wasn´t affirmed. As the nurses do not adhere to the principles of barrier care during the execution of their work, we suppose they do not know them. Hypothesis 2 stating that nurses in intensive care departments research information concerning the principles of barrier nursing care wasn´t affirmed. Only 58.5 % of nurses are interested in educational events dealing with the principles of barrier nursing care. The remaining nurses (41.5 %) would not attend training events. Hypothesis 3 stating that nurses in intensive care departments work in adherence to the principles of barrier care was not affirmed. Out of seven questions testing work habits of nurses during caretaking according to the principles of barrier care, only one was answered correctly by more than 70 % of the nurses. Hypothesis 4 stating that nurses in the departments of intensive care do not identify the problem with caretaking according to the principles of barrier nursing care in the lack of aids was affirmed. Most nurses (89.6 %) think they have enough aids for caretaking according to the principles of barrier nursing care at their disposal in their workplace. The result of the research inquiry also point to the principles the nurses adhere to. These include using aids necessary for caretaking by the barrier nursing technique and isolating the patient in a separate room or a closable box. The nurses state that acute states of health related to intensive care represent a problem which sometimes leads to breaking the principles of barrier care while taking care of the patient. The research revealed the need to motivate nurses to acquire more profound information in this area of problems and to adhere to the principles of barrier nursing care. Furthermore, it is necessary to monitor nurses more during the execution of their work and point out their malpractice to them in time. The result will be submitted to the management of the hospital where the research inquiry took place. Our recommendations, which should contribute to raising more interest in the area of problems of nosocomial infections and barrier nursing care on the part of the nurses, can be proposed to the management. The cause of the low level of awareness and low interest in acquiring more knowledge about barrier nursing care on the part of the nurses could be a further research issue