Knowledge of ICU nurses toward prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia at public hospitals in Najran, Saudi Arabia

Objective: To assess the level of knowledge among Intensive Care Unit nurses regarding Ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention at Najran Hospital in Najran City, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among Intensive Care Unit nurses at Najran Hospital using stratified random sampling from four major government hospitals. Data were collected from 1 st February to 30 th April 2019, through structured questionnaires from 147 nurses. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied using SPSS version 21. Results: The participants were primarily female (54%), married (50.6%), with a mean age of 28.4 +/- 4.2 years. A significant proportion (55.2%), had 1-3 years of Intensive Care Unit experience and the majority held diploma degrees (65.5%). More than half received Intensive Care Unit training (51.7%) and 81.6% had not undergone specific Ventilator -associated pneumonia prevention training. Only 5.7% of Intensive Care Unit nurses demonstrated good knowledge of Ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention, 57.5% exhibited moderate knowledge, and 36.8% had poor knowledge. No significant associations were found between knowledge levels and Intensive Care Unit training, gender, or years of experience (p>0.05). However, a significant correlation was observed between the level of education and knowledge of Ventilator -associated pneumonia prevention (p=0.001). Conclusion: The study highlights substantial knowledge gaps among Intensive Care Unit nurses concerning Ventilator -associated pneumonia prevention, with the majority demonstrating inadequate knowledge. Urgent interventions are required to enhance the understanding of Ventilator -associated pneumonia prevention among Intensive Care Unit nursing staff.