EVALUATION OF THE NURSES´ KNOWLEDGE ABOUT VENTROGLUTEAL INJECTION

Abstract

Objective: To assess the knowledge of nursing staff regarding to the technique of intramuscular injection in the ventrogluteal site before and after professional training. Method: A single center, before-and-after study was carried out between January and July 2010 in an emergency unit in Descalvado-São Paulo, Brazil. The research was conducted in three phases. Before the intervention, participants were required to respond a questionnaire designed to identify their theoretical knowledge about intramuscular injection techniques in the ventrogluteal site. In the second phase, a five hour session of professional training was conducted to two groups of nurses and included theoretical and practical contents. In phase three, their knowledge was assessed, after having received the professional training. Results: Before the intervention, the question relating to the anatomical structures involved in mapping the ventrogluteal site were answered correctly by only 20.8% of the participants. However, after professional training, 63.6% of the participants correctly answered this question. Also, after the intervention, 100% successfully executed the 15 steps contemplated in the assessment tool. Conclusion: Professional training was effective in increasing the level of nurses’ knowledge, but they still struggled with terminology regarding muscle and bone structures involved in mapping the site.