Survey on knowledge-belief-practice regarding enteral nutrition tolerance in critically ill patients among ICU nurses in Zaozhuang of Shandong

FENG Aihua; MA Bin

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-266X.2025.11.022

Abstract：Objective To investigate the current status of knowledge,beliefs,and practices regarding enteral nutri-tion tolerance in critically ill patients among intensive care unit(ICU)nurses in Zaozhuang,Shandong Province,provid-ing evidence for improving enteral nutrition management and training for ICU nurses.Methods Convenience sampling was employed to select 211 ICU nurses from secondary and tertiary general hospitals in Zaozhuang City as study subjects.The ICU Nurse Enteral Nutrition Tolerance Knowledge,Beliefs,and Practices Questionnaire was administered,comprising 39 items across three dimensions:knowledge,beliefs,and practices.The scores of knowledge,belief,and practice re-garding enteral nutrition tolerance among the survey participants were calculated,and the knowledge,belief,and practice status of enteral nutrition tolerance was compared between participants with different characteristics.Results The total knowledge,belief,and practice score among ICU nurses was(114.78±8.12)points,with subscale scores of(16.91±1.38)points for knowledge,(33.34±2.56)points for belief,and(64.53±6.31)points for practice.The respective pass rates were 93.94%,95.26%,and 92.19%.Members of the enteral nutrition study group scored higher on the belief dimension than non-members.Nurses who had systematically studied enteral nutrition tolerance knowledge scored higher on the belief and behaviour dimensions as well as the total score.Those who frequently obtained knowledge from academic journals scored higher on belief,practice,and the total score.Nurses who used assessment tools punctually scored higher on all three dimensions(knowledge,belief,practice)and the total score.Statistically significant differences in knowledge dimension and total scores were observed among nurses with different learning pathways(all P<0.05);no statistically sig-nificant differences were found in knowledge,belief,or practice dimension scores across gender,age,ICU type,hospital grade,professional title,educational attainment,or years of service(all P>0.05).Conclusions ICU nurses in Zao-zhuang of Shandong Province demonstrate a generally high level of knowledge,belief,and practice regarding enteral nutri-tion tolerance in critically ill patients.However,there remains scope for improvement in both knowledge and behavioral aspects.