Nurse’s Knowledge and Practice on the Care of Preterm Infants at Khartoum State Hospitals

Abstract

Background: Premature infants can develop a range of problems because their immature organs. A proper nursing care for a premature baby should be established through good nursing performances. This study aimed to assess nurse's knowledge and practices regarding the care of a premature baby in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study, with a systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data that reports a clear picture of a particular situation carried out by 72 eligible nurses who were a graduate in BSc., and had at least six months' experience at the time of the study. Result: The study showed that the percentage of nurse's knowledge regarding care of premature; definition of preterm neonate 44.4%, nurses' had poor knowledge, umbilical vessels: Two arteries & one vein 40.3 %, nurses' had poor knowledge, and the percentage of nurses' practices regarding care of premature baby; hand washing o 36.1 %, nurses' have poor practice, so there were poor nurses' knowledge and practices regarding care of premature baby. Conclusion: Based on the results of our study, we concluded that most of the nurses had relatively poor knowledge and practices about the aspects of premature care.

Keywords

• nurses' performances, preterm neonate, neonate in intensive care unit, nursing care, sudan