Physicians Attitude towards Pressure Injury Prevention and Management

Abstract

Background: Cancer and its management can cause cachexia, which, along with prolonged immobility could lead to the development of chronic pressure ulcers (PU). These complications result into infection and/or pressure injury. Though pressure injury related tasks, are deemed to be given to staff nurses alone. Little of literature is available on the physician’s attitude towards PU prevention and management. Medical interns in 2015 concluded that 70% of them need more education in pressure injury. Present study is about physicians involved in pressure injury identification and management in a Cancer Center. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in King Fahad Medical City among oncology physicians using self-administered 11 statement survey questionnaire. Physician residents, fellows, assistant consultants’ and consultants’ attitudes were compared. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. Results: In total 50 physicians completed the survey. The physicians demonstrated a positive attitude with an average mean score of 42.35 ± 4.65 (32, 51). The difference in the attitude scores among sub-groups was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated a positive attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention and management among physicians working in Cancer Center. We have also highlighted the challenges in maintaining this positive attitude and possible strategies for improvement in the future.