Surgery Wards Health Caregivers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding the Pre-Operative Shower: A French Multi-Center Descriptive Survey

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Surgery ward caregivers are responsible for educating patients about the pre-operative shower (POS), assisting with the shower as necessary, and evaluating skin cleanliness prior to transport to the operating theater to mitigate the risk of surgical site infections.<b><i>Aim:</i></b> To describe the knowledge, attitudes, and declared practices of surgery ward caregivers concerning the POS.<b><i>Methods:</i></b> A multi-center prospective survey was performed on a random sample of nurses and nurses' assistants from five French surgical facilities. Caregivers were asked about their training regarding POS, their ward protocol, knowledge of current French guidelines, attitudes, self-reported practices, and challenges pertaining to the POS.<b><i>Results:</i></b> All selected caregivers agreed to participate. Of the 72 respondents, 39% declared having received POS-related initial training, whereas 49% indicated the presence of a POS protocol within their ward. Both nurses and nurses' assistants reported a lack of clear delineation in their tasks regarding the POS. Knowledge of the existing POS guidelines was found suboptimal, with superfluous precautions wrongly deemed mandatory. As regards personal practices, caregivers highlighted the need to tailor communication to the patient's age, dependence, and body size. The predominant declared method for assessing skin cleanliness was verification of POS completion, occasionally supplemented by visual inspection of the incision site. Skin cleanliness assessment was poorly organized and perceived as intrusive by caregivers, especially for surgeries involving genital areas, with the patient's gender markedly impacting this perception.<b><i>Discussion:</i></b> This survey corroborates substantial deficiencies in POS process training, implementation, and caregiver perceptions.