Kunskaper om och attityder till prevention av trycksår hos distriktssköterskor och sjuksköterskor inom kommunal hälso- och sjukvård

Abstract

Introduction: Pressure ulcer is a common and expensive problem for society which causes suffering and pain for the patient. Registered nurses should promote health, prevent illness and relieve suffering and is responsible for identifying risk and prescribing measures for pressure ulcer prevention. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare district nurses and registered nurses knowledge and attitude to pressure ulcer prevention in municipal health care. The method: Descriptive and comparative design with quantitative approach. A questionnaire was distributed to district nurses and registered nurses who worked in nursing homes and home healthcare in five municipalities. It was 67 out of 150 respondents who participated in the study. The result: The result showed that district nurse and registered nurse’s lack in knowledge about pressure ulcer prevention. Specific in the question about position change that reduces pressure ulcer risk the most, relief of heels on pressure-reducing mattress, the right way to reduce the pressure force when a patient slides down in a chair and that oxygen deficiency causes pressure ulcer. No significant difference between the groups knowledge on pressure ulcer prevention was found. The attitude of both the district nurse and the registered nurse was positive and a significant difference was found between the groups. The district nurse had a more positive attitude compared to the registered nurse. Nurses felt less confident of their ability to prevent pressure ulcer and district nurses responded to a greater extent that pressure ulcer prevention is an important task. Conclusion: In this study, participants have insufficient knowledge about pressure ulcers prevention and the attitude of both the district nurse and the registered nurse was positive to pressure ulcer prevention. A difference between the groups was where the district nurse had a more positive attitude compared to the registered nurse.