Iranian Nurses Knowledge of Neutropenia and Their Practice for Infection Prevention in Patients with Cancer

40^th World Cancer Conference

August 25-26, 2021 WEBINAR

Mahlagha Dehghan, Hamed Naghdi, Mansooreh Azizzadeh Forouzi and Sima Mokhtarabadi

Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther

Abstract :

Neutropenia is one of cancer disease and treatment complications. Suboptimal management of neutropenia may interfere with cancer treatment and result in patient death. This study aimed to evaluate the nurses’ knowledge of neutropenia and their practice for infection prevention in cancer patients in hospitals of Kerman, in southeast Iran. This study had a descriptive-analytical crosssectional design. 203 nurses working in oncology, bone marrow transplantation, and medical wards of teaching hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences participated in the study. A demographic questionnaire, a neutropenia knowledge questionnaire, and a checklist of nurses’ care practice for infection control in cancer patients were used for data collection. The mean score of knowledge about neutropenia in nurses was 16.96 ± 2.8 which was moderate. Only 11.8% of the participants had good knowledge of neutropenia. The mean score of nurses’ overall practice for infection control in cancer patients was 7.88 ± 4.63 which was moderate. Only 19.2% of nurses had a good care practice for infection control in patients with cancer. There was no significant correlation between nurses’ knowledge of neutropenia and their practices for infection control in cancer patients (P = 0.05). Based on the results, nurses’ knowledge of neutropenia and their practice for infection control in patients with cancer are not optimal. Therefore, in addition to promoting educational programs to enhance nurses’ knowledge in this field, other factors affecting the promotion of nurses’ practices in controlling infection in patients with cancer should also be identified. Keywords: Cancer, Infection control, Knowledge , Neutropenia , Nursing care , Practice.

Biography :

Sima Mokhtarabadi is reasercher in nursing school in Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Her research interests are spiritual issues, complementary and alternative medicine, scale development and critical care. She is relatively good at research with an H-index of 2.