Cognition and Perception of Critical Care Nurses Regarding Non-InvasivePositivePressureVentilation

Abstract

Background: The use of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) has increased substantially in the last three decades as it moved from critical care to ward settings and became an essential tool to manage respiratory failure. To provide a good standard of care, it is crucial that nurses providing NIPPV care to patients have knowledge and a positive attitude within their area of competence. Objective: To determine the level of knowledge and attitude of nurses who provide NIPPV patient care and to associate the findings with the selected demographic variables. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from May to June 2023 with 280 nurses working at various critical care units in a tertiary-level hospital, selected through convenience sampling technique. Data was collected using a questionnaire prepared by the researchers and analyzed using SPSS version 27. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the analysis. Normality of the data was ensured by using the Q-Q plot and the Shapiro-Wilk test. The Fisher exact test was used to compute association with demographic variables. The level of statistical significance was set at ≤ 0.05 for all analyses. Results: The majority (68.9%) of nurses had inadequate knowledge of NIPPV with an overall knowledge mean score of 13 ± 3.45, and the majority (69.3%) maintained a neutral attitude, with 27.1% expressing negativity and a small proportion (3.6%) of nurses demonstrating a positive attitude. Notably, none of the participants had attended critical care training. There was a significant association found between knowledge levels and attitude with age (p value 0.035) and the total years of experience (p value <0.001) in nursing. There was a negative correlation found between knowledge and attitude, computing a Karl Pearson correlation coefficient of -0.248 (p<0.001). Conclusion: The study findings emphasize the necessity for targeted in-service education and interventions to ensure a comprehensive and positive approach to enhance the quality of care provided by the nurses in the context of patients receiving non-invasive positive pressure ventilation therapy.