Knowledge, attitudes and practices on venous blood sample collection among the nurses in Teaching Hospital Karapitiya (THK)

Abstract

Venous blood tests perform a major role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in the health setting. The knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare staff has an impact on proper venous blood sample collection to reduce preanalytical errors and harmful events. To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding venous blood sample collection (VBSC) among the nurses in THK. A descriptive cross- sectional study was carried out using a convenient sample of 200 nurses who were working in medical, paediatric and surgical wards and operation theatres at THK. The data were collected using a pretested self-administered questionnaire which was designed to- assess knowledge, attitudes and practices on techniques of collection, transport, storage of blood specimens; and adherence to guidelines, infection control and safety precautions. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used in data analysis. The study sample consisted of 87.5% females and 12.5% males. The study indicated that the majority of the participants had good level of knowledge (67%) and good level of practices (53%) while 97% had excellent level of attitudes. Knowledge was associated with number of sources of information used (p=0.007) and source of information (written materials p= 0.001, workshops p=0.03). Practices were associated with type of wards (p=O.03), source of information (written materials p=0.03). There was no significant association between attitudes and socio-demographic data.