Knowledge of nursing students on the subject of pressure ulcers prevention and treatment. What we know about pressure ulcers?

Introduction: Pressure ulcers and their consequences can occur in any patient regardless of the underlying disease, so the knowledge of their prevention and treatment is extremely important. The aim of the study: The aim of the study was to analyze the state of students’ knowledge on pressure ulcers. Material and methods: The research was carried out in the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin among students of nursing. The study involved 203 full-time students. Data was collected using a questionnaire consisting of 27 questions. The questions addressed the issues of the formation, prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. The Kolmogorow-Smirnow, Fisher-Snedecor test, (ANOVA) with Spearman’s correlation and Student’s t-test were applied for statistical analysis. The statistical significance was assumed to be p ≤ 0.05. Results: Over half of the respondents (57.64%) had a sufficient level of knowledge on pressure ulcers prevention and treatment. The level increased with the duration of the study, the highest was in the last few years, both I and II cycle of studies. The better (the higher) subjects assessed their knowledge about prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers, they were characterized by a higher level of knowledge. Conclusions: The knowledge of nursing students on pressure ulcers increases with subsequent years of study. The selfassessment of students’ knowledge about pressure ulcers, their prevention and treatment is accurate. Students of the consecutive years are better prepared to carry out anti-bedsore prevention. Students are aware of the need to have knowledge, as well as practice in the field of prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers