Nurses' assessment of nutrition awareness in the critical patient

Abstract

Background/Aim: Healthcare professionals need sufficient knowledge and practice regarding nutrition in terms of early diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition. This study aims to investigate and evaluate nurses' awareness and knowledge of nutrition among critical patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the knowledge levels of the nurses (n: 55) who have worked for at least two months in the intensive care or palliative service were measured using the Nurses' Nutrition Support Awareness Questionnaire for the Critical Patient, and the answers were statistically evaluated and interpreted. Results: Nurses’ average age was 27.7 and 21.8% of them were men and 78.2% were women. In terms of education status, 16% of them were high school graduates, 33% had associate degrees and 51% were university graduates. In addition, 76% of the nurses had more than two years of professional experience. According to the rate of correct answers in the questionnaire, the level of knowledge about starting nutritional support with the evaluation of the patient, the way and route of TPN administration, and the products and drugs that can be given together were evaluated as “good” with scores of 80-84%. The level of knowledge about the time to start support for the patient with insufficient oral intake, which products were preferred initially, the way to administer enteral products, and the duration of consumption were evaluated as "medium" with 60-65%. Nurses scored 40-50% on fluid support and feeding the patient without swallowing reflex, which was deemed “insufficient.” Conclusion: This study reveals that nurses have sufficient knowledge about the necessity of nutritional support and TPN. In addition, it indicates that the level of knowledge about enteral nutrition, fluid support, and nutrition of patients who do not have a swallowing reflex need to be supported by theoretical and practical training.