Kunskapsnivån avseende hantering av perifer venkateter (PVK) bland sjuksköterskor inom kirurgisk vård vid ett universitetssjukhus

Abstract

Introduction: Peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) are the most used invasive medical device. Management of peripheral intravenous catheters is a key responsibility of nurses and requires both theoretical knowledge and clinical skills. Research questions: What is the current level of knowledge regarding the management of PIVCs among nurses in surgical care at a university hospital? Is there any relationship between the nurses´ knowledge related to: level of education; professional experience; or type of surgical department (workplace)? Material and method: A quantitative descriptive study was performed. Data were collected using a structured questionnarie adressing PIVCs management, level of education, and professional experience. Participants were nurses from three surgical departments and one surgical clinic. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS program with nonparametric tests to map knowledge levels and compare them across the specified variables. Results:The collected data was limited, only 59 nurses of 146 (40%) answered the survey.The analyses showed that neither level of education nor professional experience was associated with higher number of scores on the knowlegde test. Nurses from the clinic performed worse and this was statistically significant (p=0,011). Identified knowledge gaps included frequency of inspection of PIVCs, understanding of infection risk (e.g.,sepsis) and proper disinfection of the injection membrane (” scrub the hub”). Conclusion and implications: Nurses knowledge regarding handling of PIVCs was assessed as good, some knowledge gaps were identified. The results showed that there were no significant differences related to level of education or professional experience, unlike other than workplace, which may reflect differences in routines and follow-up of complications in different units. Despite of the limited generality due to the small sample, the results offer useful insight for local improvement work. There is a need for targeted training initiatives with a focus on the identified shortcomings and continuous skills development regardless of previous experience or level of education