Browsing by Author "Sharma, Medha"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Publication Knowledge of Nurses Working in Critical Care Areas Regarding Ventilator Associated Pneumonia Prevention Bundles in a Tertiary Level Cardiac Centre(Institute of Medicine, 2021) Bhandari, Sandip; Sharma, Medha; Shrestha, Gentle SABSTRACT Introduction: Prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is influenced by the knowledge and practices of nurses. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of nurses working in critical care areas of a tertiary level cardiac centre regarding VAP prevention bundles. Methods: In this descriptive study, 57 nurses working in critical care areas were included, they completed a self-administered questionaire containing demographic information followed by 18 multiple response questions. With the respondents choosing one or more correct answers, the percentage of correct answer for each options was obtained. For each questions, the correct percentage for all the options were averaged and expressed as average knowledge percent. The significance of association was tested using chi-square and Fisher exact test, with level of significance established at 95%. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 21. Results: With a mean age of 26.8 years, the majority of the nurses had completed Bachelor’s degree (75.4%). Though 91.3% nurses had experience of more than a year in critical care, 87.7% of them had not obtained VAP or infection control training. The mean knowledge score of VAP was 70±7.5%, and 97.4% had satisfactory knowledge. There was no association between knowledge scores on prevention of VAP and educational qualification (p=0.26) and years of experience in intensive care unit (p=0.41). Conclusion: Almost all of the nurses working in critical care areas had satisfactory knowledge regarding VAP bundle, however, they had lower knowledge on the definition and approach to prevent VAP. This study recommends to incorporate more nurses in training related to infection and VAP prevention. Keywords: Critical care area, knowledge, nurses, ventilator-associated pneumoniaPublication Knowledge of COVID-19 among Health Care Workers at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study(Nepal Medical Association, 2020) Bhandari, Sandip; Sharma, Medha; Shrestha, Gentle SundarAbstract: Introduction: Health care workers are at higher risk of infection with the coronavirus disease as they are directly involved in the treatment of infected patients and perform aerosol-generating procedures. Proper knowledge of this disease can influence the positive attitude, good practices and enhance their safety. We aim to study the knowledge of COVID-19 among health care workers of the tertiary care hospital of Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health care workers of Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre from May 20 to June 19, 2020. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Board (IRB No: 4-2020). Written informed consent was taken from all respondents. Correct answers were summated to reflect the mean knowledge, expressed as a percentage. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21. Results: The mean general knowledge score was 95.7%. The mean medical knowledge score was 70.5%. Only 42 (56.8%) of physicians and 103 (53.6%) of nurses had a higher level of medical knowledge regarding COVID-19. Likewise, very few lab technicians 7 (21.9%) and none of the pharmacists had a higher level of medical knowledge. Conclusions: The healthcare workers of this centre have adequate knowledge regarding COVID-19. However, periodic training for all workers, especially the nurses and allied workers, may help to update the knowledge and hence enhance their safety and that of their patients.