Does the Knowledge of Nurses on Blood Pressure Measurement Affect Their Practice?

Aim: This study was performed to evaluate whether nurses follow the measurement steps accurately while measuring blood pressure, whether they have accurate information about the procedure, and whether they apply their knowledge correctly during practice. Material and Methods: This observational study was conducted with 106 nurses working in the internal medicine and surgical department of a university hospital in Turkey from March 15 to May 15, 2016. In the study, nurses' knowledge and application of the measurement steps were determined by observation and face-to-face interview methods. The obtained data were recorded in the information and observation forms. The same researcher made all observations, and each nurse was observed once. Results: None of the participants fulfilled the following four steps in measuring blood pressure 1) "allowing 30 minutes for the patient to relax if the patient is tired or has been smoking", 2) "inflating the blood pressure cuff until radial artery pulse is lost", 3) "waiting for one minute following the deflation of the blood pressure", 4) "inflating the blood pressure cuff until the scale reads around 30 mm Hg above the reading from the radial artery". In contrast, a considerable proportion (respectively, 77.4%, 71%, 70%, 60%) of nurses knew these steps. Further, none of the nurses who accurately knew the same steps performed them in practice (p<0.05). Conclusions: The study showed that while measuring blood pressure, the nurses did not comply with the steps for measuring blood pressure and did not put their theoretical knowledge of the required steps for the procedure into practice.