Development of a tool to determine the ventrogluteal injection site and investigation of its validity and reliability

The aim of this methodological study was to develop a tool to determine the ventrogluteal injection site and to investigate its validity and reliability. It included 150 volunteers, of whom 75 were female and 75 were male. Data were collected in Radiology/Ultrasound unit of Adnan Menderes University between July 2015 and December 2015. Inclusion criteria were giving informed consent, being aged 18-65 years and having a body mass index of 18,5-40. In the first step, ethical approval was obtained from the ethical committee of Adnan Menderes University and the Ministry of Health and the tool to determine the ventrogluteal injection site was developed in cooperation with the Department of Engineering. In the second step, the validity and the reliability of the tool were tested. To test the validity of the tool, the injection site was determined with both the tool and the manual method. To test the reliability of the tool, the measurements made by the researcher were repeated by another researcher. The thicknesses of subcutaneous and muscle tissues in the injection sites determined by the researchers and those of the tissues 2cm and 4cm around the injections sites were determined with ultrasound. Obtained data were analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 18.0 and were evaluated with numbers, percentages, t test, ANOVA test, reliability test and Kappa test. p<0.05 was considered significant. There was not a significant difference in the mean subcutaneous tissue thickness between manual measurements and measurements made with the tool (15.68± 7.55 mm; 15.44±8.01 mm; p:0.403 p<0.05). However, it was significantly higher in the women than in the men (17.77±7.83; 13.59±6.69; p: 0.00 p<0.05). It was significantly lower in the individuals with the body mass index of 18,5-24.9 kg/m2 than in the rest (p:0.00 p<0.05). The sensitivity and the specifity of the tool were 98.3% and 72.4% respectively. The tool was found to have a high, excellent reliability. In conclusion, the tool developed to determine the ventrogluteal injection site is valid and reliable. It can be suggested that the injection needles should be selected by taking account of the subcutaneous tissue in the injection site determined with the tool and the sites 2cm and 4cm away from that site. It can be recommended that the tool can be reliably used by nurses. However, nurses should be provided with sufficient information about the tool. Key words: Ventrogluteal injection, tool, nursing