A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE AMONG STAFF NURSES REGARDING PATIENT SAFETY AFTER CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION WITH A VIEW TO DEVELOP A POCKET REFERENCE ON PATIENT SAFETY, AFTER CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION AT SELECTED HOSPITALS GUWAHATI, ASSAM.

Cardiac catheterization is an invasive diagnostic procedure in which radiopaque arterial and venous catheters are introduced into selected blood vessels of the right and left sides of the heart in the ante cubital artery or vein or femoral artery or vein with x–ray guidance. In India of the 30 million heart patients, 14 million reside in urban areas and 16 million in rural areas. Cardiac hospitals in overall India perform over 2,00, 000 open heart surgeries per year, one of the highest worldwide.

Materials and methods: – Non–experimental survey research design study was undertaken among staff nurses working in cardiac catheterization unit, cardiology ward and cardiac intensive care unit of Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Apollo Hospital and Hayat Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, India. The knowledge of Fifty staff nurses were assessed using structured knowledge questionnaire on patient safety after cardiac catheterization and practice were also assessed using observational checklist regarding patient safety after cardiac catheterization.

Result:– The findings of the study revealed that majority of the staff nurses had average knowledge level (i ,e 52%), and  there is adequate practice level (i ,e 72%) of the staff nurses regarding patient safety after cardiac catheterization, and also there is a significant association between  knowledge and area of posting and also there is a significant association between practice of staff nurses with educational qualification, area of posting, exposure to in–service education program and years  of experience in cardiac unit equipped with cardiac catheterization and there is moderate negative correlation found between knowledge and practice of staff nurses regarding patient safety after cardiac catheterization.

Conclusion:– Cardiac catheterization is used for diagnosis and treatment of several cardiac diseases like Coronary Artery Disease. So having good knowledge and adequate practice regarding patient safety after cardiac catheterization is essential for staff nurses working in cardiac units in order to provide maximum quality care to the patient.