[Southern European intensive care nurses' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia].
OBJECTIVE
To assess Southern European intensive care unit nurses' knowledge about evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia and to compare these findings with a pan-European perspective.


METHODS
A sub-analysis from an observational study performed using a 9-questions, multiple-choice questionnaire performed during the period October 2006 - March 2007.


METHODS
Six Southern European countries, selected from 22 participant European countries.


METHODS
Volunteer nurses from intensive care units.


RESULTS
3329 questionnaires were obtained, 1182 of them belonging to Southern European countries with a 75.8% response rate. Global average score was 45.1%, being it significantly better in the South of Europe (46.6%, P<.001). A linear multiple regression analysis showed that years of working experience (per class of increase) (B=0.154 ± (SD) 0.045) (95% CI (0.066-0.242))(p=0.001) and working in a smaller intensive care unit (B=-0.210 ± (SD) 0.059)((95% CI) -0.326-0.094)(P<.001) was independently associated with better test scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Southern European critical care nurses' knowledge about ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention is poor, but significantly better than in the pan-European countries.
CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Barcelona, España. mireiallaurado@gmail.com
M
M
Llauradó
S
S
Labeau
D
D
Vandijck
J
J
Rello
A
A
Rosa
A
A
Riera
E
E
Gallart
R
R
Moreno
K
K
Vandewoude
R
R
Piñer
M L
ML
Benítez
S
S
Blot
D003422:Critical Care; D005060:Europe; D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009729:Nursing; D053717:Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires