Nurse Knowledge, Practice, And Associated Factors Related to Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Cross-sectional Study

Backgroundpressure ulcer is skin and tissue damage from pressure and friction, risky for immobile patients but preventable with early care. It harms health, causes discomfort and immobility, delay recovery, and nurses working in clinical settings plays important role in identifying patients at risk and administering preventative care. Objectivesto assess nurses knowledge and practice towards pressure ulcer prevention and its associated factors in selected hospitals in southern Ethiopia, 2024. MethodA cross-sectional study design was conducted in selected hospitals in Southern Ethiopia Regional State from May to June 2024. Data were collected using a structured self-administered paper questionnaire from 225 participants using a simple random sampling procedure, and the collected data were checked for their completeness with kobotool box and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. ResultIn this study, 139 (61.9%) of nurses have good knowledge and 137 (60.9%) of nurses have good practices. Having good knowledge [AOR = 6.940(3.527-13.656)], use of pressure ulcer prevention guidelines [AOR 3.3574(1.317-8.539)], formal training on pressure ulcer prevention [AOR 2.253(1.044-4.862)] and nursing leadership [AOR 2.246(1.064-4.742)] were associated with pressure ulcer prevention practices of nurses. While experience [AOR 3.52 (1.343-9.244)], marital status [AOR 0.414(0.219-0.780)], use of pressure sore guidelines [AOR 2.695(1.209-6.008)] and formal training [AOR 2.968(1.508-5.843)] were associated with pressure ulcer prevention knowledge of nurses. ConclusionThe overall level of pressure ulcer prevention knowledge and practice of nurses were good. Knowledge, use of pressure ulcer prevention guideline, formal training on pressure ulcer prevention, nursing leadership, experience, and marital status were statistically significant factors for pressure ulcer prevention knowledge and practices. Health managers should offer ongoing professional development and updated guidelines to hospitals to enhance nurses knowledge and practices in preventing pressure ulcers.