Evaluation of knowledge levels of nurses about parenteral and enteral nutrition practices

Evaluation of Knowledge Levels of Nurses about Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Practices Objective: This study was conducted in order to evaluate the knowledge level about parenteral and enteral nutrition practices of nurses who are working in surgical, internal medicine, intensive care or hematology-oncology units. Material-Method: It is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The study was carried out at two hospitals, and the sample was composed of 142 nurses. Nurses' knowledge levels of enteral and parenteral nutrition practices were assessed using Knowledge Questionnaire for Parenteral Nutrition Practices and Knowledge Questionnaire for Enteral Nutrition Practices. Results: Mean age of sample was 24.4 (SD: 3.36) and sixty percent (60.6%) of nurses had bachelor's degree. Total working time as a nurse was 46.93 months. Sixty six percent (66.2%) of nurses reported that they were not trained for nutrition practices. It was found that nurses had moderate knowledge about enteral (13.45±3.31) and parenteral (7.13±2.80) nutrition practices. Most common incorrectly answered questions were about storage places and duration of enteral nutrition products, residual gastric volume indicating delayed gastric emptying and medication administration through enteral feeding tubes (78.2%, 73.9% and 71.1%, respectively). The least correctly answers of the questionnaire were about ideal route for transfusion of parenteral solutions with osmolarities greater than 900 mOsm/l during parenteral nutrition practice (83.8%), the status of administration of medications throughthe central intravenous catheter (76.8%) and factors that increase the risk of infection in parenteral practices (64.8%), respectively. Surgical nurses obtained statistically significantly lower means from Knowledge Questionnaire for Enteral Nutrition Practices and Knowledge Questionnaire for Parenteral Nutrition Practices than those working in medical wards or intensive care units (p <0.05). Conclusion: The study results have shown that knowledge of nurses about enteral and parenteral nutrition practices needs to be improved through the theoretical and practical training courses at regular intervals. Key Words: Enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition, level of knowledge, nurse.