Nurses' knowledge and practice regarding venous-thromboembolism prevention in tertiary hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Background: The prevalence of venous thromboembolism is steadily increasing in developing nations including Ethiopia. Nurses play a vital role in the prevention of venous thromboembolism. However, the level of nurses' knowledge, practice, and associated factors in venous thromboembolism prevention is not well-known across Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess nurses' knowledge, practice, and associated factors regarding venous-thromboembolism prevention in tertiary Hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia METHODS: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 339 randomly selected nurses working at tertiary hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 25. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe and test the association between selected variables. Results: Out of the total 339 participants, only (51.6%) and (45.4%) had adequate knowledge and practice towards venous thromboembolism prevention respectively. Attending in-service training (AOR=1.701, p = 0.044) was significantly associated with knowledge of VTE prevention. Educational level (AOR= 3.871, P = 0.048), work experience (AOR=5.207, P<0.001), work location (AOR= 0.507, P = 0.019), working department (AOR= 2.959, P = 0.048), knowledge level (AOR= 0.477, P=0.005) were significantly associated with better preventive practice. Conclusion: This study suggests that nurses' level of knowledge and practice towards venous thromboembolism prevention was inadequate. Nurses' educational level, attending in-service training, work experience, work location, and working department were determinant factors associated with nurses' knowledge and practice towards venous thromboembolism prevention. Therefore, upgrading nurses' educational level and providing in-service training on venous thromboembolism prevention is crucial for positive patient outcomes.