ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess nurses' perceived competence in pressure injury (PI) care and explore the association between perceived competence and nurses' backgrounds, knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in PI care.
Methods: This study used a descriptive correlational design. During January and February 2021, the authors sent an online questionnaire to 117 nurses caring for patients with or at risk of PI at a tertiary level hospital in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, to collect information regarding demographics, knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and perceived competence in PI care. Univariate and multiple regressions were performed to assess the associations.
Results: A total of 111 completed questionnaires were obtained, a response rate of 94.9%. Nurses reported inadequate knowledge and relatively low self-efficacy in PI care. However, they had positive attitudes and acceptable levels of perceived competence in PI care. According to a univariate analysis, being a wound specialist, having read PI-related articles or practice guideline within the past year, and having knowledge and self-efficacy in PI care were associated with nurses' perceived competence.
Conclusions: Pressure injury-related knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy are independently associated with nurses' perception of their competency in PI care.