Knowledge of ICU Nurses Regarding the Ongoing Nursing Assessment of ICU Patients in Khartoum City, 2020

Abstract

Background: An ongoing nursing assessment is the most significant point in the
nursing process to be executed in the beginning of every shift which can be
accomplished by using different approaches. It needs to be conducted accurately to
guide professional nurses’ decision-making ability to further provide holistic nursing
care to patients in the intensive care units (ICUs). This study was aimed to assess the
ICU nurses’ knowledge regarding ongoing nursing assessment of ICU patients.
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted in
Khartoum city, and included 86 out of the 135 participants working in the critical care
units of the main governmental hospitals in Khartoum city. Data were collected using
a structured self-administered questionnaire after being tested for validity and then
analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and correlation. Data were then presented
as frequencies and percentages.
Results: The study participants were aged between 20 and 40 years with a female
to male ratio of 3:1, and varied levels of experience. Overall, 71.7% of the studied
participants scored good on the standardized knowledge classification tool used, with
few areas of knowledge gap, impacted by increased experience. Moreover, 36% of
the participants used the ABCDE approach for ongoing nursing assessment, followed
by the head-to-toe assessment approach (21%).
Conclusion: The nurses’ knowledge regarding ongoing nursing assessment was good
with a few areas of weakness raising the need for continuous educational and training
programs.