Knowledge and attitudes of intensive care nurses toward pressure injury prevention: a descriptive cross-sectional study

AIM: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of nurses working in an intensive care unit regarding the prevention of pressure injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design and was conducted among nurses working in the intensive care unit of a university hospital. Participants' knowledge and attitudes regarding pressure injury prevention were measured using validated scales. The findings were compared with individual characteristics and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Inferential analyses demonstrated that higher knowledge scores were significantly associated with advanced age (F = 26.5, p < 0.001), postgraduate education (F = 5.37, p = 0.02), and prolonged professional experience (F = 6.97, p < 0.001). Similarly, professional attitude scores were significantly higher in more experienced cohorts (F = 22.41, p < 0.001), whereas formal educational attainment exerted no statistically significant influence (F = 1.29, p = 0.28). Although the overall variance across age groups was statistically significant (F = 3.29, p = 0.04), post-hoc pairwise comparisons demonstrated that no individual age-group comparison reached statistical significance. Furthermore, a weak but statistically significant positive linear correlation was identified between total knowledge and professional attitude metrics (r = 0.237, p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: ICU nurses' knowledge levels regarding pressure injury prevention were found to be insufficient, particularly in relation to specific prevention-related knowledge areas. Although nurses demonstrated generally positive attitudes toward pressure injury prevention, the findings should be interpreted within the scope of the measured knowledge and attitude variables. The study did not directly assess bedside clinical performance, adherence to preventive measures, or patient-level pressure injury outcomes.