Index of knowledge of care workers about dependency-related skin lesions

Yanisleydy Leyva-Cruz, Facultad de Enfermería-Tecnología, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba
Mirelys Sarduy-Lugo, Departamento de Enfermería, Hospital Provincial Pediátrico Universitario José Luis Miranda, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba
Lidia E. Collado-Cabañin, Departamento de Enfermería, Hospital Provincial Pediátrico Universitario José Luis Miranda, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba
Angélica M. Padilla-Sosa, Facultad de Enfermería-Tecnología, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba
Aylin Morales-Pérez, Facultad de Enfermería-Tecnología, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba
Anabel Sarduy-Lugo, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y de la Salud, Universidad Estatal Península Santa Elena, Santa Elena, Ecuador

Introduction: The prevention of skin lesions related to dependency depends largely on the level of knowledge of the care agents. Objective: To determine the knowledge index of caregivers regarding the prevention of pressure ulcers related to dependency. Method: A quantitative, observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study in two stages. Twenty caregivers selected by homogeneous sampling, all residing around basic work group number three of the Chiqui Gómez Lubian Teaching Polyclinic in Villa Clara, Cuba, participated. A questionnaire was administered to caregivers on their knowledge of pressure ulcers and other dependency-related injuries. The questionnaire’s validity and reliability were determined by calculating the Fleiss kappa coefficient of agreement. Results: The face and content validation of the COCU-LCRD 23 questionnaire (caregivers’ knowledge of pressure ulcers and other dependency-related injuries) generally showed considerable strength of agreement among participants, with a Fleiss kappa coefficient of 0.7982. The questionnaire demonstrated high reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.9101. The knowledge level was low in 85.0% of the study sample. The most affected areas were nutrition and skin care. Conclusions: The knowledge level for preventing dependency-related skin lesions among most caregivers was low. These results emphasize the need to implement preparedness strategies for caregivers so they can adequately perform care actions.

Keywords: Functional dependency. Pressure ulcer. Primary health care. Caregivers. Primary prevention.