Knowledge and attitude of community nurses on pressure injury prevention: a cross-sectional study in an Indonesian city

The objectives of this study were to examine the knowledge and attitude of Indonesian community nurses regarding Pressure Injury (PI) prevention. A cross-sectional design was used and included the community nurses permanently working in the Public Health Center (Puskemas) in Bandung, West Java Indonesia. Knowledge was measured using the Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Assessment Tool (PUKAT 2.0). Attitudes were measured using a predesigned instrument which included 11 statements on a five point Likert scale. All data were collected using paper-based questionnaires. The response rate was 100%. Respondents (n = 235) consisted of 80 community nursing program coordinators (34.0%) and 155 community nurses (66.0%). Regarding knowledge, the percentage of correct answers in the total group of community nurses on the PUKAT 2.0 was 30.7%. The theme “Prevention” had the lowest percentage of correct answers (20.8%). Community nurses who had additional PI or wound care training had a higher knowledge score compared with community nurses who did not have additional PI training (33.7% vs 30.3%; Z = −1.995; P = 0.046). The median attitude score was 44 (maximum score 55; range 28–55), demonstrating a positive attitude among participants towards PI prevention. Further, the higher the education status of participants, the more positive the attitudes (H = 11.773; P = 0.003). This study shows that community nurses need to improve their basic knowledge of PI prevention. Furthermore, research should be performed to explore what community nurses need to strengthen their role in PI prevention.