CRITICAL CARE NURSES’ LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE ABOUT TRACHEOSTOMY CARE: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Background: Tracheostomy care is a standard nursing practice used in critical care units (CCUs) to reduce tracheostomy-related problems. Aim: This study aimed to assess critical care nurses’ level of knowledge and practice about tracheostomy care. Subject and Method: A descriptive cross-sectional research design utilizing a non-probability purposive sample of 100 nurses who were compatible and worked in the critical care units at Suez Canal University hospitals in Ismailia City from July 2021 to September 2021. Data were gathered using an online self-report survey to assess their level of knowledge and an observational checklist to evaluate their practice level about tracheostomy care in the stated settings. Results: The current result exhibited that most of the studied nurses’ level of knowledge and practice about tracheostomy care was unsatisfactory. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean level of both knowledge and practice about tracheostomy care with demographic data (p≤0.05). Conclusions: Clearly, more than half of the study nurses were aged between 20-29 years old (mean age was 29±36.2) and less than two-thirds of them were female. The level of knowledge and practice among critical care nurses about tracheostomy care was unsatisfactory. Recommendations: Suggesting an urgent in-service training module to improve nurses’ performance about tracheostomy care and maintain a continuous competency evaluation. Future research studies must aim for a national representation of the participant nurses to gain a better assessment of their training and educational needs as well as update policy and practice.