Introduction: Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a major morbid outcome among intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Providing oral care for intubated patients is an important task by the ICU nursing staff in reducing the mortality and morbidity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the attitudes and knowledge of ICU nurses regarding oral care delivery to critically ill patients in Saudi Arabian ICUs. The findings were further correlated to the presence of healthcare quality accreditation of the institution.
Materials and methods: The nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and healthcare quality accreditation status of the hospital were recorded. Two hundred fifteen nurses conveniently selected from 10 random hospitals were included in this study from Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional study in the form of a questionnaire.
Results: When comparing the knowledge of the participants to their level of education, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups of nurses. The majority of the nurses agreed that the oral cavity is difficult to clean and that oral care delivery is a high priority for mechanically ventilated patients. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference in the attitudes between nurses working in accredited and nonaccredited hospitals.
Conclusion: The presence of healthcare quality accreditation did not reflect any significance in attitudes or knowledge of the ICU nurses in regard to mechanically ventilated patients. Factors affecting oral care delivery should be evaluated on the personal and institutional level to achieve better understanding of them.
Keywords: Healthcare quality; intensive care; mechanical ventilation; nursing; oral care hygiene; quality accreditation.