Knowledge and Its Associated Factors among Nurses Caring Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Referral Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Nursing care based on expert knowledge of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is currently a major clinical concern. Care to CKD patients provided by non-expert nurses has been reported to result in substandard care, increased risk of complications, and prolonged hospitalization. This study described nurses’ knowledge of the care of patients with CKD, for possible interventions. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional design; was used; 200 nurses were enrolled by simple random sampling technique. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25; descriptive analysis was done for demographic characteristics and knowledge responses and a chi-square test was conducted to determine association alpha; p<0.05. Also, an ANOVA t-test was done to determine the mean knowledge score difference between the groups of the sociodemographic characteristics p-value < 0.01. Results: The majority of the participants 72% had moderate and 13% had high knowledge levels. Experience of working in renal ward/unit and attendance in nephrology training were found to significantly contribute to higher mean knowledge scores than not having these experiences [t (198) = -2.26, p=0.025] and [t (198) = -5.24, p<0.01] consecutively. In addition, participants with diplomas, bachelor degree, and masters had higher mean knowledge scores than those with a certificate [F = 17.57, p<0.01]. Conclusion: Knowledge gaps in the care of patients with CKD exist even among nurses working in the highest level of health facilities. Further research may be done to explore nurses’ perceptions on caring for patients with CKD without expert/specialized training.