Nurse's Knowledge About Fecal Intestinal Ostomies's Care: A Cross-Sectional Study

Investigation of various aspects of care in ostomy patients is of clinical importance, as the level of knowledge and skills of nurses directly influences the quality of patient education and satisfaction with received care.
The purpose of this study was to determine knowledge of nurses in general surgery wards regarding fecal intestinal ostomies.
This cross-sectional study was performed during year 2015 at teaching hospitals (Ghaem, Imam Reza and Omid hospitals) affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. We used census for sampling, and the study population included all nurses, who were working in intestinal ostomy surgery wards. Inclusion criteria were having an undergraduate degree in nursing and at least one-year work experience at the surgical ward. Data collection tools were a demographic information questionnaire and a researcher-made survey of “assessment of knowledge of nurses in ostomy care”. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 11.5.
Overall, 83.9% of participants were female and mean work experience at the surgical ward was 4.23 (SD = 3.73). More than half of the nurses gave incorrect answers to questions related to the use of powders and sprays associated with skin itching and sensitivity (64.3%), and how to care for ostomy with a rod (66.1%). Nurses also showed low and very low levels of knowledge on symptoms and control of obstruction (57.1%), change duration in the size of ostomy (66%), sexual intercourse (57.1%), colostomy complications (51.8%) and ileostomy (57.1%) and authorized or unauthorized activities (50%) as well as how to perform bowel irrigation (75%).
According to the results of this study, the knowledge of nurses was not enough to provide primary care for ostomy; thus due to the importance of adequate knowledge and because of needs assessments, it is recommended for nursing managers to conduct retraining courses and other educational approaches for nurses.