Determination of nurses' knowledge levels on skin tears: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To determine nurses' knowledge level about skin tears (STs). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 346 nurses working in acute care hospitals in Turkey who completed web- or paper-based surveys in September and October 2021. Researchers used the Skin Tear Knowledge Assessment Instrument, which consists of 20 questions across six domains, to assess nurses' level of ST knowledge. RESULTS: The mean age of the nurses was 33.67 (SD, 8.88) years, 80.6% were women, and 73.7% had an undergraduate degree. Nurses' mean number of correct answers on the Skin Tear Knowledge Assessment Instrument was 9.33 (SD, 2.83) of 20 (46.66% [SD, 14.14%]). The mean numbers of correct answers by domain were as follows: etiology, 1.34 (SD, 0.84) of 3; classification and observation, 2.21 (SD, 1.00) of 4; risk assessment, 1.01 (SD, 0.68) of 2; prevention, 2.68 (SD, 1.23) of 6; treatment, 1.66 (SD, 1.05) of 4; and specific patient groups, 0.74 (SD, 0.44) of 1. Significant associations were found among the nurses' ST knowledge scores and whether they had graduated from a nursing program (P = .005), their working years (P = .002), their working unit (P < .001), and whether they provided care to patients with STs (P = .027). CONCLUSIONS: Nurses' level of knowledge of the etiology, classification, risk assessment, prevention, and treatment of STs was low. The authors recommend including more information about STs in basic nursing education, in-service training, and certificate programs to increase nurses' ST knowledge.