Awareness and Practice of Wound Disinfection Among Wound Care Nurses in Korea

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the awareness and practice of wound disinfection among Korean wound care nurses. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: The target sample comprised 100 members of the Korea Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse Association. Seventy-eight wound care nurses responded to the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 78%. METHODS: Potential respondents were contacted via e-mail and asked to complete a questionnaire designed for this study. RESULTS: Pressure ulcers were the most common wound type managed by WOC nurses, followed by surgical wounds. The mean score of items measuring awareness of wound disinfection practice and reported wound disinfection practice were 3.38 on a scale of 0 to 4 scale, and 3.14 on a scale of 0 to 4, respectively. Scores among items that queried awareness and practice in various methods for disinfecting a chronic wound disinfection were highest (3.74 and 3.67 out of 4, respectively) and scores of items querying disinfection with sodium hypochlorite were lowest (2.80 and 2.05 out of 4, respectively). There were significant differences between all items of awareness and reported practice except for disinfection with alcohol. Awareness of wound disinfection significantly correlated with reported practice. CONCLUSIONS: Developing an effective educational program to enhance awareness is necessary to improve practice of wound disinfection.