Effect of Intervention Training on Nurses’ Knowledge of Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment and Prevention at a Tertiary Hospital, Nigeria

Background: Despite advances in healthcare, inadequate knowledge of pressure ulcer risk assessment (PURA) and prevention strategies among nurses as a major contributory factor to development of pressure ulcers among “at risk” patients has been identified by previous studies. Aim: This study evaluated effect of intervention training on nurses’ knowledge of pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention strategies at University College Hospital, (UCH) Nigeria. Methods: A randomized controlled trials research design. Sample size was 268 (134 participants each in intervention and control groups) nurses selected through simple random and systematic sampling techniques. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Level of significance set at p-value <0.05. Results: Mean ages of participants were 42.45±8.89 and 38.81±10.56 years for intervention and control groups respectively. Almost all participants in intervention group during pre-test had adequate knowledge of pressure ulcer risk assessment, and pressure ulcers prevention strategies compared to during pre-test in which poor knowledge of those areas was recorded among majority of them. Also, adequate knowledge of pressure ulcers prevention strategies was observed among intervention group after the training as compared to control group in which poor knowledge was recorded. Furthermore, intervention training was highly statistically significant with all studied domains at p<0.001. Conclusion: The intervention training on nurses’ knowledge regarding PURA and prevention strategies was positive at a high rate. Regular training programs on the subject matter for all nurse clinicians to promote quality nursing care according to international best practices is crucial.