Knowledge levels of intensive care nurses on prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia

BackgroundVentilator-associated pneumonia constitutes a significant concern for ventilated patients in the intensive care unit. AimThis study was planned to evaluate the knowledge of nurses working in general intensive care units concerning evidence-based measures for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia. MethodThis study design is cross-sectional. It was carried out on nurses working in the general intensive care units of anesthiology and re-animation clinics. Collection of research data was performed by means of a Nurse Identification Form and a Form of Evidence-Based Knowledge concerning the Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia. Characterization statistics were shown by percentage, median and interquartile range. Chi-square and Wilcoxon tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used as appropriate. ResultsThe median value of total points scored by nurses on the questionnaire was 4.002.00. The difference between the nurses' education levels, duration of work experience and participation in in-service training programmes on ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention and the median value of their total scores on the questionnaire was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion The conclusion of the study was that critical care nurses' knowledge about ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention is poor.