Assessment of Nurses' Knowledge and Self-Reported Practices in Using Infusion Pumps for Pediatric Units at Tertiary Care Hospitals, Lahore

ABSTRACT Background: Infusion pumps are essential medical devices in paediatric settings where the accuracy and precision of medicine and fluid delivery is crucial and patients are easily at risk of incorrect dosing. Nursing staffs' theoretical knowledge and proficiency in clinical skills, along with adherence to formal procedures, are critical factors in determining the effectiveness of infusion pump therapy and patient safety. Medications errors in pediatric and neonatal patients can be life-threatening because of the immaturity of their physiology, dosing, and narrow therapeutic ranges. Objective: To evaluate the Knowledge of registered nurses and their self-reported practices related to infusion pumps use in paediatric section of tertiary care hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. Methodology: Descriptive – cross sectional research design was used. Non-probability convenience sampling technique was used for data collection from 150 registered nurses from Jinnah Hospital and Children's Hospital Lahore working in Pediatric Units of the hospitals. A structure and validated questionnaire consisting of 3 parts, respectively demographic data, Knowledge scale (10 items) and Practice checklist (10 items) rated with 5 points Likert scale was applied. SPSS 27 was used to analyse the data. The instrument was tested using Cronbach's Alpha for their reliability as Cronbach's Alpha was obtained as α = 0.996 (knowledge) and α = 0.898 (practice). Results: Most of the participants were 26-35 years old (86.7%), female (100%) and had Post RN or Diploma qualifications (100%).Almost all nurses had more than three patients assigned to their shifts (97.3%) and critically, 2% had not taken formal training with infusion pumps, 94.7% did not have access to a nursing procedure manual. Nurses had high scores of knowledge (4.55 – 4.98) and satisfactory scores with respect to self-reported practices (4.38 – 4.81) despite this institutional deficiency. 98.7% of the participants had satisfactory knowledge and 94.0% had satisfactory practice. But, compliance was lower for hand hygiene (59.3% always) and post-use pump cleaning (64.7%) and documentation (62%). Conclusion: The theoretical knowledge and self-reported clinical practices of nurses to use infusion pump is satisfactory in tertiary pediatric units of Lahore. However, there is an institutional disconnect on the aspects of formal competency-based training and standardized procedure. Based on the identified gaps in practice, targeted educational programs, increased nurse-to-patient ratios, and comprehensive monitoring of infection control are all strongly encouraged, and would help to protect pediatric patient outcomes. Keywords: This paper aims to establish the state of knowledge and practice regarding infusions and medication errors among tertiary care nurses who look after children.The purpose of this paper is to define the current state of knowledge and practice about infusions and medication errors among nurses in tertiary care who provide care for children.