Nurses' knowledge and beliefs about pressure ulcers care: a systematic review of literature
Pedro L. Pancorbo Hidalgo, Francisco P. García Fernández, Mª Carmen Rodríguez Torres, Macarena Torres García, Isabel Mª López Medina

SUMMARY

   Aim: To determine the current knowledge about prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers (PU) in nurses.

   Design: Systematic review.

   Data source: Fourteen bibliographic databases: Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE); Cinahl; Medline; Currents Contents: Clinical Medicine, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Life Sciences; Índice médico español (IME); Cuiden; Centro Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Información en Ciencias de la Salud (LILACS); Cochrane Library; EBSCO; ScienceDirect; Springer; InterSciencia; ProQuest y Pascal.

   Methods: Papers about surveys of knowledge on PU published in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese were included. Also a quasi-experimental study about the effect of a formation session on PU knowledge was included. Studies about knowledge using non comparable methodology were excluded.

   Results: Eighteen papers were included in the review. Most of them have used a convenience sample. Participants were registered nurses, licensed nurses and nurse students. As average, the overall index of knowledge was 70%; with a range between 73 and 85% for prevention, and between 56 and 78% for treatment. Risk factors best known were: incontinence, immobility, pressure or malnutrition. The nursing interventions best known were: skin care, maintain clean the bed and repositioning. On contrary, the use of pressure-relief surfaces, patient education and PU classification were the nursing interventions kwon by a fewer number of nurses

   Conclusions: Overall the level of knowledge about PU care is acceptable. The knowledge about risk factors and prevention measures is better than that one about treatment. Education and specific training about PU improve the knowledge index.

KEY WORDS

   Pressure ulcers, knowledge, systematic review.

Vol. 18 nº4-2007