Evidence-based Practices in the Prevention of Central Venous Catheter Infections: Knowledge of Intensive Care Nurses

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the knowledge level of intensive care nurses regarding evidence-based practices in the prevention of infections related to the Central Venous Catheter (CVC). Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in the adult intensive care units of a research and practice hospital and a private hospital in September-November 2018. The written consent of the participants and the approval of the ethics committee and necessary institutions were obtained. In data collection, a "data collection form regarding the demographic features of the participants" and "information form oriented to preventing infections regarding CVC" were used. Results: The study was completed with 126 nurses, 52.4% of whom were aged 19-28 and 50.0% had been working in intensive care units for 1-38 months. Their knowledge regarding the prevention of CVC-related infections was low. The total mean scores of nurses aged 29-43 were statistically significantly higher than those aged 19-28 (p=0.045). The total mean scores of the nurses who had worked as a nurse for 7-24 years were statistically significantly higher than those who had worked for 1-6 years (p=0.003), and the total mean scores of the nurses who had worked as intensive care unit nurses for 40-288 months were statistically significantly higher than those who had worked for 1-38 months (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study found that nurses had a low level of knowledge regarding evidence-based practices in the prevention of CVC-related infections, and as age and experience of working as a nurse in intensive care units increased, knowledge levels also increased.