Attitude, knowledge and skills in assessment and management of polytrauma patient during Covid-19

Abstract

Introduction: Sars covid-19 infection is a severe acute respiratory syndrome that first appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Since then, the health systems have undergone major re-organizations and especially the Emergency Departments (EDs) which are responsible for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in the hospital premises through proper triage. Regarding the management and monitoring of multi-trauma patients, this becomes even more difficult since these patients in most cases are not able to provide a history of possible infection.
Aim: The aim of this research work was to investigate the attitude, knowledge, and skills of the nurses of the EDs of the University General Hospital of Ioannina and the General Hospital of Ioannina “G. Hadzikosta” in the process of assessment and management of multiple injuries in the new operating conditions of the EDs during the covid-19 pandemic.
Material and Method: The study is a quantitative descriptive and interpretive study. 40 self-completed questionnaires of 35 questions were distributed with a convenience method to all the nursing staff of the EDs of the two hospitals of the city of Ioannina in the year 2022 with 25 (return rate 62.5%) being returned completed for statistical analysis.
Results: The sample of the study consisted of 25 ED nurses of the two hospitals. Participants’ mean age was 43±8,75 years, while the mean for the years working in ED was 7,88±9,01. Nursing staff with less experience in ED, lower job position and educational level gave the most incorrect answers to both the knowledge questions and the judgment questions. Finally, the nursing staff reported that their work has become more demanding in the era of SARS covid-19 especially due to the extensive use of personal protective equipment and that better organization can help in more efficient clinical practice.
Conclusions: The knowledge and attitude of the ED nurses in the management of a multi-injured person, especially during the SARS COVID-19 period, were incomplete, as they are affected by the level of education, the job position and the years of experience in the Emergency Department. The proper treatment of a multi-injured patient in the SARS COVID-19 period in the ED requires a specialized nurse with enough experience. This issue can be eliminated with retraining and specializations by the hospital administration and also by devoting more teaching time at the undergraduate level on the subject.