Knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses toward pressure ulcer prevention in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno State, North-Eastern, Nigeria

Pressure ulcers are areas of localized injury to the skin, underlying tissue or both, usually over a bony prominence, as a result of pressure or in combination with shear. They are common problem in health care and represent a significant burden on patients, their relatives and caregivers. Pressure ulcer prevention is of the quality indicators to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcer in acute care setting. The study assessed nurses’ knowledge, attitude and practice of pressure ulcer prevention in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno State (UMTH). The study adopted a non-experimental cross-sectional descriptive survey design. A total sample of 99 nurses participated in the study and data was collected through a self developed and validated questionnaire. Analysis was done with statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 20, descriptive statistics of frequency count and percentages was used to answer research questions, while inferential statistics of chi-square was used to test the hypothesis at 5% level of significance. Findings revealed low level knowledge among nurses, positive attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention practices and low level practice of pressure ulcer prevention in UMTH. However, significant relationship was found between nurses’ work experience and practice of pressure ulcer prevention. The study therefore suggests that nurses need to increase their knowledge towards pressure ulcer prevention in order to improve nursing practice and ensure client’s safety from pressure ulcers.