Frequency of application and level of nurses’ knowledge on administering intramuscular injections into the ventrogluteal site

Abstract

SummaryIntroduction. The most recent literature data and studies have rec - ommended the middle gluteal muscle or the ventrogluteal side as the site for the application of intramuscular injection. Although it has been recommended for many years because of its many advantages it is rarely used in the clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of application of intramuscular injection and the level of nurses’ of knowledge on how to give injections at the ventrogluteal site. Material and Methods. This study was conduct - ed as an observational, analytical cross-sectional study at two health - care institutions of different medical care levels on a sample of 96 nurses. The Questionnaire on the level of knowledge concerning the Ventrogluteal Site for Intramuscular Injection was used as a research instrument. Results. A quarter (28.1%) of the nurses knew that the ventrogluteal site or the middle gluteal muscle was the recommend - ed site for intramuscular injection, while in their clinical practice only 20.8% of the nurses used it. The average score on the Questionnaire on the level of knowledge concerning the Ventrogluteal Site for In - tramuscular Injection was 8.8 ± 4.1 (SD), the maximum score being 22. Conclusion. The results of the study show that the ventrogluteal site for administering intramuscular injections is rarely used, and the level of knowledge which the nurses from the study sample have shown about the procedure and the advantages of using the ventro - gluteal site for intramuscular injections is rather low.