Nurses' knowledge and application of evidence-based guidelines for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to evaluate the nurses' knowledge and to highlight the causes that hinder guidelines implementation.


METHODS



METHODS
descriptive study.


METHODS
106 nurses working in the ICUs of a major Italian hospital of national importance.


METHODS
administration of a questionnaire listing 21 non-pharmacological strategies considered the most useful in the literature.


RESULTS
Eighty-four nurses responded to the questionnaire. Only 19 (22.6%) declared that their knowledge of ventilation associated pneumonia (VAP) and the strategies used to prevent it were satisfactory, whereas 46 (54.8%) declared that they were poorly informed; 68 nurses (80.9%) said that they applied one or more strategies, and 15 (17.9%) that they applied none. The reasons given for not applying the strategies were: method not foreseen in Department protocols (31.5%), lack of the necessary resources (14.3%), disagreement with the method (3.2%), high costs (2.6%), the possibility of causing discomfort (1%) or side effects (0.6%).


CONCLUSIONS
In our experience, VAP preventive strategies are widely applied by nurses, but not in a responsible and informed manner. It is important to ensure that nurses receive continuous training and are involved in drawing up and updating Departmental protocols and guidelines for care and behaviour.
Biancofiore
G
G
Transplant and Postsurgical Intensive Care Unit, Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine Unit 1, Cisanello Hospital, Pisa, Italy. g.biancofiore@med.unipi.it
Barsotti
E
E
Catalani
V
V
Landi
A
A
Bindi
L
L
Urbani
L
L
Desimone
P
P
Stefanini
A
A
Sansevero
A
A
Filipponi
F
F
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003625:Data Collection; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D009726:Nurses; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires