Assessment of Nurses' Knowledge on Feeding, Medication, for Unconscious Patients in Kirkuk City

Abstract

Background: One of the primary reasons for the disparity in health is smoking. One cannot escape the consequences of smoking. Smoking is linked to at least 13 distinct forms of cancer. Additionally, a smoker's risk of developing coronary heart disease is significantly higher than that of a non-smoker. Smoking can also lead to a host of other illnesses. Emphysema is one of the illnesses most closely linked to smoking. Smoking increases the risk significantly, however working with particular chemicals can also contribute to this.

Objective: This study aims to assessment of nurses' knowledge on feeding, medication, for unconscious patients in Kirkuk city

Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was used in this study with pre- and post-intervention assessments was carried out between 29^th December 2024 and 30^th May 2025. A Multistage, Probability “purposive sample” sampling technique was utilized to collect data from (6^th February to 10^th April) nurses from (60) nurses in respiratory care unit and intensive care unit at Kirkuk city., it is consisting of seven parts , data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics by using spss version 0.26

Results: the result assessed nurses' knowledge across three domains: feeding and medication administration, bladder and bowel elimination, and mouth care for unconscious patients. In the pre-assessment phase, nurses exhibited moderate knowledge in the feeding and medication administration domain, with 63.64% of items assessed at a moderate level and 36.36% at a high level. After the educational program, all items (100%) were assessed at a high level, with significant improvements in 10 items (P<0.01), except one item which showed no statistical difference (P>0.05). For bladder and bowel elimination, 83.33% of items were assessed at a moderate level and 16.67% at a low level during the initial test. Post-assessment results showed a complete improvement, with all items (100%) assessed at a high level, demonstrating significant differences (P<0.05). In the domain of mouth care, 62.5% of items were initially assessed at a moderate level, 25% at a high level, and 12.5% at a low level. Following the educational intervention, 87.5% of items were assessed at a high level, and 12.5% at a moderate level. Four items showed significant improvement (P<0.01), while four others remained statistically insignificant (P>0.05).

Conclusions: the educational intervention significantly improved nurses' knowledge in three key areas: feeding and medication administration, urinary output, and oral care of unconscious patients. At pre-assessment, nurses demonstrated average levels of knowledge in these areas, with a significant proportion of items rated at moderate or low levels. After the intervention, all measured areas showed significant progress, with the majority of items reaching a high rating level, and statistically significant improvements were observed in most aspects (p-values ​​< 0.01 or < 0.05). However, some specific items, particularly regarding oral care procedures and the introduction of water before and after feeding, did not achieve statistical significance, highlighting the need for further targeted training. These findings are consistent with previous research conducted in different regions, strengthening the effectiveness of structured educational programs in enhancing nurses' knowledge and practice in caring for unconscious patients.