Knowledge Regarding Tracheostomy Care among Nursing Students

Background: A Tracheostomy is a medical procedure which consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of lower part neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea (windpipe). It may be either temporary or permanent. Tracheostomy is performed for several reasons, all involving restricted airways. It may be done during an emergency when the airway is blocked or it could be used when a disease or other problem makes normal breathing impossible. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study design was used to find out the knowledge regarding Tracheostomy care among nursing students. The study was conducted among all the PCL nursing 3rd year students of Lumbini Nursing College and Meditech Nursing College, Butwal, Rupandehi. Nonprobability purposive sampling technique was used where 80 PCL nursing 3rd year students were selected for study sample. Self administered structured questionnaire was prepared by researcher herself by reviewing the related literature, consulting with the research advisor and subject experts. The prepared tool was validated by the experts and the reliability was established then data was analyzed by using descriptive statistical method. Results: Findings of the study showed that out of 80 respondents all most all the 95% had knowledge about Tracheostomy and purpose of its care. More than half 60% of respondents had knowledge about contraindication of the Tracheostomy. More than half of the respondent 61% had knowledge regarding the time of suctioning and 40% respondents had knowledge about the duration of the suctioning. Less than half of the respondent 42% had knowledge about suctioning pressure in adult and 38.8% had knowledge about the Tracheostomy suctioning pressure in child. Half of the respondent 47.5% had knowledge about the routine management of the Tracheostomy care. More than half of the respondents 58.8% had knowledge regarding the position recommended after the Tracheostomy care and 67.5% of the respondent had knowledge about the uses of the Tracheostomy ties. Conclusion: Findings of the study showed that only half of the respondents had knowledge regarding Tracheostomy care so this study suggests that there is need for strengthening the knowledge on Tracheostomy care among the students.