Knowledge of maggot debridement therapy among medical and surgical nurses in Hospital USM, Kelantan

• Main Author: Khim, Wong Mong
• Format: Monograph
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Sains Malaysia 2023
• Subjects: R Medicine; RT Nursing
• Online Access: http://eprints.usm.my/61449/1/31.%20Wong%20Mong%20Khim_146886-E.pdf; http://eprints.usm.my/61449/

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) is gaining recognition as an important alternative treatment for chronic wound healing. Hence, nurses’ knowledge of MDT is critical. This study aimed to determine the knowledge of MDT among medical and surgical nurses. A cross-sectional study of 165 nurses working in the medical and surgical wards, randomly selected, was carried out at Hospital USM from February 1, 2023, to March 31, 2023. A validated 20-item survey questionnaire was used to measure nurses’ knowledge of MDT. The study population were described by descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, frequencies and percentages). The Pearson correlation coefficient test was employed to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics and MDT knowledge score. The mean age of participants was 32.72 ± 5.19 years old. Of the participants, 52.7% had poor knowledge of MDT, whereas 21.2% had moderate knowledge. Only 26.1% of participants had good knowledge of MDT. A significant correlation was observed between nurses’ MDT knowledge and heard of MDT (p=0.034) and performed MDT (p=0.025). There was no statistically significant association between the knowledge score and the sociodemographic variables (age, nursing education level, workplace, and years of working experience). Findings shed light that nurses’ knowledge of MDT was low to moderate, and a significant correlation was observed between nurses’ MDT knowledge, heard of MDT and performed MDT. Therefore, in-service MDT education and training programs are needed to enhance nurses' knowledge of MDT.