LEVEL OF NURSE PRACTICE AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS TOWARDS DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS PREVENTION IN SELECTED ETHIOPIA ARMED FORCE HOSPITALS IN 2023

Abstract

Background: Deep vein thrombosis is a preventable and treatable cause of death among hospitalized patients. Nurse deep vein thrombosis prevention practice plays a major role in improving prevention care. But there have been few studies on nurse’s deep vein thrombosis prevention practice in Ethiopia that have revealed a low level. Objective: To assess level of Nurses practice and perceived barriers to deep vein thrombosis prevention in selected Ethiopian armed forces hospitals. Methods and Materials: An institutional-based mixed study design conducted from March 1 to 2 May 2023. For the quantitative study a simple random sampling technique was used to select 245 participants. Observational checklist adapted from National Institution for Health and Care Excellence guideline and different literature. Data was entered in Epi-Data version 3.1 software and exported to SPSS version 26.0. For analyses, bivariate and multivariate methods were used. For the qualitative study, eight participants who had work experience of at least six months in patient care were selected by using purposive sampling and semi-structured interview questions conducted in Amharic. Thematic analysis was applied using ATLAS.ti version 7. Finally triangulated with quantitative data. Results: A total of 245 participant were involved in this study, with a 100% respondent rate. The result showed that 40.8%, with a 95% CI (34.6, 47.3) had good practice about deep vein thrombosis prevention. Age between 26 and 30 years [AOR=0.31; 95% CI (0.10, 0.99)], work experience ≤ 5 years [AOR=0.16; 95% CI (0.05, 0.51)], not having training [AOR=0.09; 95% CI (0.03, 0.33)], nurses who had poor knowledge [AOR= 0.30; 95% CI (0.13, 0.70)], and nurses who had a negative attitude [AOR=0.09; 95% CI (0.03, 0.28)] were significantly associated with deep vein thrombosis prevention practice. In the qualitative study, lack of training, lack of knowledge, work load, absence of supervision, and patient refusal are some barriers Conclusion and Recommendation: This study reveals that more than half of the participants had poor practice in deep vein thrombosis prevention. Work experience, lack of training, poor knowledge, and a negative attitude are factors that affect prevention practice. Absence of guidelines, work load, absence of supervision, and patient refusal are perceived barriers. So, we recommend that to improve the quality of care, it requires a continuous education program and routine supervision.