Assessment of Nurses’ Knowledge and Practice Regarding Implanted Port‌-A-Catheter Care for Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Background: Implantable Port-A-Catheter is a vascular access device that provides direct access to large blood vessels. The device has become an integral part of daily oncology nursing clinical care, mandating a knowledgeable and competent nurse who is able to meet specific patient’s needs and prevent serious complications. Aim: To assess nurses' knowledge and practice regarding implanted port-A-Catheter care for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Settings: The In-patient Medical Unit of the Damanhur Oncology Center; affiliated to Ministry of Health and Population at El-Beheira Governorate, Egypt. Subjects: All available (60) oncology nurses involved in direct implanted port-A-catheter care for patients undergoing chemotherapy were included. Tools: two tools were used. Tool one: “Oncology Nurses' Knowledge Structured Interview Questionnaire”. Tool two: “Oncology Nurses' Practices regarding Implanted Port-A-Catheter Care for Patients undergoing Chemotherapy Observational Checklist”. Results: More than half (56.7%) of the studied nurses had fair overall knowledge level, and almost all (96.7%) of the studied nurses had poor level of practice regarding implanted Port -A-Catheter care for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Moreover, there was a positive statistical significant correlation between nurses’ overall knowledge and overall practices. Conclusion: The study concluded that nurses' knowledge regarding implanted Port -A- Catheter care for patients undergoing chemotherapy were fair while their practices were poor. Recommendations: Implement in-service education program for nurses to update their knowledge and practices concerning implanted Port -A-Catheter care