Staff nurses' sites of choice for administering intramuscular injections to adult patients in the acute care setting.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this descriptive, correlational study was to determine intramuscular injection sites presently being used by acute care nurses in one Canadian province and factors that contribute to site selection.


BACKGROUND
Intramuscular injections are routinely administered by nurses in acute care settings. Recent nursing literature recommends that the ventrogluteal site, rather than the dorsogluteal site, should be used for these injections, although evidence in the literature to support this claim is lacking.


METHODS
A convenience sample of nurses employed in acute care settings was accessed through a database at the professional association. Six hundred and fifty-two nurses were sent a questionnaire. Two hundred and sixty-four questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 42·2%. Data were collected during 2007.


RESULTS
Nurses are preferentially using the dorsogluteal site over the ventrogluteal site, and site selection varied significantly with age, level of preparation, years in nursing and knowledge of nerve injury as a complication with the selected site.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses are not preferentially using the ventrogluteal site for intramuscular injections to adults as recommended in recent nursing literature. Additional research on the safety of a properly mapped dorsogluteal site is needed.
Center for Nursing Studies, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. lwalsh@cns.nf.ca
Lorna
L
Walsh
Kathleen
K
Brophy
D000328:Adult; D002081:Buttocks; D002983:Clinical Competence; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017751:Safety Management; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013848:Thigh; D055815:Young Adult