From Novice to Expert, What Are Nurses’ Beliefs About Personal Protective Equipment?
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Authors
Mitchell, Amie
Warren, Lauren
Issue Date
2017
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
College of Sciences and Health Professions , Amankwaa, Linda , personal protective equipment
Alternative Title
Abstract
Nursing is a profession in which nurses come in contact with infectious disease on a daily basis. There are risks associated with caring for patients through exposure to blood and body fluids. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge base and proficiency of nurses and their use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The aims of the study were to analyze nurses’ beliefs and knowledge of Standard Precautions and the use of PPE. The study was conducted in the State of Georgia and used 30 participants who were licensed Registered Nurses between the ages of 20 and 65 years old. The sample was collected using snowball sampling and participants were divided into two groups based on whether they had less than or greater than one year of nursing experience. The data were gathered using an email survey via Survey Monkey®. The results suggested that nurses with greater than one year of experience felt more confident in caring for patients when exposed to blood and body fluids as well as felt more confident in removing PPE. Overall, the majority of nurses felt that further education and competency training on PPE and Standard Precautious would be beneficial.