Nurses’ knowledge of pressure ulcer and its associated factors at Hawassa University comprehensive specialized hospital Hawassa, Ethiopia, 2018

BACKGROUND: Pressure ulcer is largely avoidable, but its prevalence rate increased more than 80% in a 13 years study. Nurses have a great position to advance best practices towards the prevention of pressure ulcers. Therefore they should be knowledgeable of the signs and symptoms of pressure ulcers, and preventive strategies to reduce its incidence, but there is limited evidence on nurses’ knowledge and its associated factors to prevent pressure ulcers in Ethiopia. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 25 – April 23/ 2018. A total of 356 nurses were selected by stratification with a simple random sampling technique. Pretested structured questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions was used to collect data. Frequency distribution and percentage were computed to describe each variable. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression with a 95% confidence interval was also carried out to see the effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable and declared statistically significant association with P < 0.05. RESULT: The mean knowledge score of nurses was 25.22 out of 41 item questions. Fifty-two point 5 % of nurses score above the mean. Males [AOR = 0.44, 95% CI (0.26–0.73)], working a maximum of eight hours [AOR = 3.57, 95% CI (1.48–8.61), not having training [(AOR = 2.31, 95% CI (1.14–4.61)], Low salary [AOR = 3.47, 95% CI (1.03–11.67)] were significantly associated with inadequate knowledge. CONCLUSION: Generally a nurse’s knowledge of pressure ulcers was inadequate. Being female, working less than or equal to eight hours, not having the training and low working salary are contributors to a low level of knowledge for pressure ulcers.