The effect of education on knowledge and performance of nurses in prevention and control of pressure sore

Nursing team members are responsible for direct and continuous care related to pressure sore and treatment. In order that nursing achieves quality care, nurse's performance need to be based on the best scientific evidence. The present study aimed at assessing the effect of education on knowledge and performance of nurses in prevention and control of pressure sore In this semi-excremental study, all nurses and patients in internal, neurology, intensive care unit, and orthopedic wards of Shahrood Imam Hossain hospital were assessed. Intervention covered two instructional sessions in the domains of preventing and curing of pressure ulcer. Information regarding nurse's knowledge in two stages-i.e. before instruction and one month after instruction- was gathered by means of a demographic questionnaire and a questionnaire derived from the guide Agency Health Care and Policy Research; and the information about ulcer recovery was gathered on the basis of the measure Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing. Finally, the obtained data was analysed by means of SPSS (version 14), Wilcoxon test, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney, independent t, and Kruskal- wallis. Many of participants in the study were women (74%) and 77% of them had a BSc in nursing. For all nurses, in both domains of prevention and care, post-instruction grades increase was significant. Only in over-forty year samples and those with an over ten-year work-record instruction did not have a significant effect and a significant difference was not observed in the obtained grades. Incidence of pressure ulcer was 4.45% before instruction, which decreased to 3.08% after standard care instruction (P<0.001). Results indicated that nurse's knowledge of pressure ulcer care and cure is less than the average in strategic care of pressure ulcer. It is suggested that curriculum content be organized and strategic instruction be applied in nursing faculties in order to prevent and cure pressure ulcer.