Determination of nurses' knowledge intended for evidence-based practices in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as an infection of the pulmonary parenchyma in patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours and is one of the most common infections in the Intensive Care Unit. Nursing care has an important place in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the knowledge level of nurses working at Adana Şehir Eğitim ve Araştırma Hospital about the prevention of ventilatör associated pneumonia. 228 intensive care nurses participated in the study. "Nurse Identification Form" and "Information on Evidence Based Practices in the Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Form" were used. Data on the results of the survey in the study; It was evaluated by applying Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis and Chi-square test. In the study, 73.7% of the nurses were women, 82.9% were undergraduate graduates, and the mean age was 30.87±5.72. It was determined that the nurses' knowledge score on preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia was 5.6±1.9 (min=0, max=9). The most correct answer to nurses' questions about prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia was 'positioning the patient' (82.5%); it was determined that the most wrong answer was 'open or closed system preference' (23.7%). Nurses' gender, working time, educational status, age, getting education about VIP, reading articles about VIP; It was determined that nurses did not affect their knowledge level in preventing VAP. A statistically significant difference was found between the number of beds in the unit and the ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention knowledge score (t=3.22 ,p=0.002). It is understood that working of nurses in units with 10 beds or less is an important indicator to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia. As a result, it can be said that the knowledge level of the nurses working in the intensive care units is at an average level, and the level of knowledge increases as the number of beds decreases. It is recommended to increase evidence-based studies for the prevention of VAP.