Nurses’ knowledge of incontinence-associated dermatitis: the influence of a planned educational programme

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present study was to improve the knowledge of incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) among nurses who take care of hospitalised patients with faecal incontinence (FI). Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional research study in which a design of one group before and after the testing was used to evaluate knowledge about IAD. The study included 60 nurses, and the IAD educational sessions lasted for about 60 minutes. They included topics that referred to the definition, prevention, and treatment of IAD. The McNemar test and Wilcoxon’s matched-pairs test were used to test the differences in IAD knowledge among nurses. Results: After the education sessions, nurses showed highly statistically significant better knowledge about FI and its influence on the occurrence of IAD, as well as the possibilities of prevention and treatment (p < 0.001). The mean value of the total score on the knowledge test was significantly higher after the education (8.66 ± 1.50) than the mean value of the total score on the test before the education (6.82 ± 1.50). Conclusion: It was found that nurses showed better knowledge in classification, risk factors, prevention, and treatment of IAD after education. It is necessary to continuously evaluate the knowledge of IAD among nurses to plan educational programmes, with the aim of providing better outcomes in patient treatment.