Knowledge, attitudes and practices of intensive care unit nurses towards nutritional care in critically ill patients: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Introduction: In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the lack of adequate nutrition Knowledge among nurses. Nutrition training in the medical curriculum and for healthcare professionals is contradictory, inadequate, and weak. Nurses are one of the most reliable sources of nutritional information for patients; and yet, little research has been done so far on nurses’ information regarding their important role in nutritional care. Our study is designed to assess the current level of Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of nurses in intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods: A four-part questionnaire was used in this study. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2019 to July 2020. The sample size consisted of 110 nurses based on the statistical data obtained from the nursing offices of two hospitals of Tabriz University of medical science including all the nurses working in the ICUs. Thereafter, all questionnaires were re-collected and data were finally analyzed.

Results: Results showed that from 110 nurses which were included in this study, 73.6% had high Knowledge, 45.5% had moderate practices, and 58.2% had a positive attitude about nutritional support. Age and level of education had a significant correlation with their knowledge (P=0.005 and P=0.001, respectively). Nursing attitude had a significant correlation with age and the level of education (P=0.03 and P=0.003). And also, nursing practice had a significant relationship with age, work experience in the ICU, and the level of education (P=0.001, P=0.001 and P=0.004, P<0.05).

Conclusion: Nurses surveyed in this study had a high knowledge, moderate practice and a positive attitude regarding nutritional care in patients admitted to the ICU.