Clinical nurses' knowledge and practice of venous thromboembolism risk assessment and prevention in South Korea: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine Korean registered nurses' level of perceived knowledge and practice of venous thromboembolism risk assessment as well as prevention, self-efficacy in venous thromboembolism care and actual knowledge of venous thromboembolism. BACKGROUND: For hospitalised patients, venous thromboembolism is a preventable clinical disorder. Caring for venous thromboembolism patients requires coordination across multiple providers and settings. Clinical nurses can play a major role in improving venous thromboembolism prevention care, assessing venous thromboembolism risks and providing appropriate prophylactic measures to those who are at risk for venous thromboembolism. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study. METHODS: Anonymous paper-based surveys were conducted for a convenience sample of registered nurses' (n = 452) from two university-affiliated hospitals in South Korea. RESULTS: The majority of participants indicated that their overall self-rated venous thromboembolism knowledge was 'fair', while only 2.4% rated it as 'very good' or 'excellent'. The overall mean score of the venous thromboembolism knowledge questions was 50.9 (+/-13.0) of a possible score of 100. The mean score of self-efficacy in practising venous thromboembolism prevention/prophylaxis was 3.0 (based on a one to five Likert scale). The self-reported venous thromboembolism assessment performance on patients varied among clinical units. Only 9.3% of participants reported having received in-service venous thromboembolism education from their hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed that overall venous thromboembolism knowledge and self-efficacy in venous thromboembolism prevention practices of Korean registered nurses' were not highly rated. Korean nurses demonstrated a lack of knowledge about venous thromboembolism, particularly in the areas of venous thromboembolism prophylaxis measures and venous thromboembolism diagnosis methods. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Focused education on venous thromboembolism prevention and risk assessment should be considered a component of continuing education for Korean nurses.