Knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani intensive care unit nurses regarding oral care delivery to mechanically ventilated patients

Abstract

Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of intensive care unit nurses regarding oral care delivery to mechanically ventilated patients.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from January to July 2018 across four hospitals in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. Data was obtained from randomly selected nurses with the help of a 14-item self-reporting questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 23.

Results: Out of 81 nurses, 76(93.8%) were female, and 47(58%) had experience up to 10 years. When the participants were asked if disease can be transmitted from other patients, 23(28.4%) said it was likely, 22(27.2%) said it was most likely and 16(19.8%) said they did not know. When asked if the disease can be transmitted from the aspiration of contaminated secretions from the oropharynx, 32(39.5%) nurses said it was likely, 31(38.3%) said it was not likely and 9(11.1%) did not know. Knowledge level was significantly associated with level of education (p<0.05). In terms of attitude, 54(66.7%) nurses disagreed that there were more important tasks to do for unstable patients than oral care, indicating a good attitude.

Conclusions: Knowledge and attitude among the subjects were found to be good regarding oral care delivery to mechanically ventilated patients.

Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Intensive care unit, Nurses, Oral care..