Clinical nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding incontinence-associated dermatitis: A cross-sectional study from China

To explore the current status of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) among clinical nurses in China and identify factors influencing these three aspects, this study adopted a cross-sectional design and was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Fujian Province, China, with 1,153 nurses completing the questionnaire. Primary outcome measures included nurses’ IAD-related knowledge, attitude, and practice scores, with scoring rates of 70.6%, 90.9%, and 69.9% respectively; key low-scoring items in knowledge were “IAD care products” (2.04 ± 1.019) and “IAD assessment tools” (2.12 ± 0.923), while low-scoring practice items included “actively participating in IAD seminars” (60%) and “using IAD assessment tools” (66%). Demographic and professional information collected included gender, age, highest educational attainment, work experience, job position, job grade, department, wound/ostomy/incontinence (W/O/I) team membership, and participation in W/O/I care training. Results showed that clinical nurses had insufficient IAD knowledge (only 15.3% with high knowledge levels) and inadequate practices, but held positive attitudes (75.4% with positive attitudes). Notably, male nurses demonstrated more comprehensive IAD knowledge than female nurses (p