Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction: Pressure ulcer is one of important complication and frequently happens to inpatients. Moreover, pressure ulcer has a significant impact on patients’ life quality. Nurses have a critical role in the prevention of pressure ulcer. Several treatments to prevent pressure ulcer e.g. wound dressing, combination of massage and repositioning, and health promotion. In order to do nursing procedure, the knowledge and attitudes of nurses towards the prevention of pressure ulcer are crucial. Objectives: The goal of this research was to investigate the relationship between nurses’ knowledge and attitudes toward pressure ulcer prevention. Methods: This study was a literature review which completed out by searching references through several online databases, namely Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Pubmed by using keywords “Pengetahuan”, “Sikap”, and “Luka tekan” for the journal in Indonesian, and using keywords “Knowledge”, “Attitude”, and “Pressure ulcer” for the journal in English. Results: The results show that nurses’ knowledge and positive attitudes toward pressure ulcer prevention remain low. Conclusion: Conducting training, attending various kinds of seminars, adding facilities of pressure relief, inserting pressure ulcer in the nursing curriculum, and compiling an instruction book of pressure ulcer prevention are recommended to be done in order to enhance nurses’ knowledge and positive attitudes in preventing pressure ulcer.