A study to evaluate the knowledge regarding prevention of osteoporosis among staff nurses of a tertiary care government hospital

Arockiamary Ignasimuthu; S Parimala

doi:10.4103/jdrntruhs.jdrntruhs_185_22

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Year : 2022 | Volume : 11 | Issue : 4 | Page : 333-335

A study to evaluate the knowledge regarding prevention of osteoporosis among staff nurses of a tertiary care government hospital

Arockiamary Ignasimuthu¹, S Parimala²
¹ Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Vinayaka Mission's Annapoorana College of Nursing, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation- Deemed to be University, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Nursing, Vinayaka Mission's Annapoorana College of Nursing, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation- Deemed to be University, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

Date of Submission	25-Oct-2022
Date of Decision	16-Nov-2022
Date of Acceptance	27-Dec-2022
Date of Web Publication	17-Mar-2023

Correspondence Address:
Ms. Arockiamary Ignasimuthu
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Vinayaka Mission's Annapoorana College of Nursing, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation- Deemed to be University, Salem, Tamil Nadu
India

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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DOI: 10.4103/jdrntruhs.jdrntruhs_185_22

Abstract

Background: Osteoporosis is a skeletal illness in which bone strength is weakened, resulting in an increased risk of bone fragility. The homeostatic process is disrupted. The rate of bone resorption is faster than the rate of bone turnover. Osteoporosis causes bone to become porous, brittle, and weak, allowing it to fracture easily under loads that would break normal bone.
Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted for a period of three months from June 2021 to August 2021 at a tertiary care hospital in Chennai, among the population consisting of staff nurses between one and twenty years of experience. A total of 30 staff nurses were selected for this study by a convenient sampling technique after receiving the ethical committee permissions from the institution.
Results: The findings of the current study revealed that 16.7% of the respondents belong to the age group of 25–30 years and 30% of the staff nurses were in the age group of 36–40 years and 26.6% of the respondents belong to 31–35 and 41–45 respectively. With respect to the designation, majority, 25 (83%) of samples were staff nurses and 5 (17%) of samples were head nurses.
Conclusion: Overall, nurses have little to moderate awareness of osteoporosis, according to the findings. As a result, nurses must make more efforts to improve their understanding of osteoporosis prevention and treatment in order to provide better patient care.

Keywords: Knowledge, osteoporosis, prevention, staff nurses

How to cite this article:
Ignasimuthu A, Parimala S. A study to evaluate the knowledge regarding prevention of osteoporosis among staff nurses of a tertiary care government hospital. J NTR Univ Health Sci 2022;11:333-5

How to cite this URL:
Ignasimuthu A, Parimala S. A study to evaluate the knowledge regarding prevention of osteoporosis among staff nurses of a tertiary care government hospital. J NTR Univ Health Sci [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Mar 21];11:333-5. Available from: https://www.jdrntruhs.org/text.asp?2022/11/4/333/371756

Introduction

Osteoporosis is a skeletal illness in which bone strength is weakened, resulting in an increased risk of bone fragility.^[1] The homeostatic process is disrupted. The rate of bone resorption is faster than the rate of bone turnover. Osteoporosis causes bone to become porous, brittle, and weak, allowing it to fracture easily under loads that would break normal bone.^[2],[3] Low bone mass and degeneration of bone tissue are symptoms of osteoporosis, which can increase the risk of fracture.^[4],[5] Over the age of 50, one in every two women and one in every four men will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture. Osteoporosis is regarded as the “silent thief” because it robs the skeleton of its accumulated resources slowly and insidiously over many years.^[6],[7] Bones can deteriorate to the point where they can no longer tolerate typical mechanical force. Because osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle, even minor stressors like bending over or coughing might result in a fracture.^[8] In India, 60 million adults are believed to have osteoporosis, with 2.3 million new cases each year. Osteoporosis affects 25% of women over the age of 60, resulting in vertebral fractures. The worldwide population of people aged 65 and above is predicted to grow to more than 1.5 billion by 2050.^[9]

If the age-specific risk of hip fracture remains constant, the global number of osteoporotic hip fractures is expected to rise from 1.66 million in 1990 to 6.26 million in 2050. Based on his experience and a survey of the literature, the investigator discovered that the majority of osteoporosis patients are unaware of how to prevent the disease.^[10] Despite the availability of numerous examinations and scales such as the Fracture Risk Assessment (FRAX) Tool and the bone DEXA scan (dual energy x-ray So the absorptiometry), early diagnosis and preventive therapy are uncommon. Nurses are thought to play a key role in public education on osteoporosis prevention and management.^[11]

As a result, the researchers believed that there is a need to get access to and effect knowledge on osteoporosis prevention among staff nurses. Hence, the goal of this study was to determine the level of knowledge among staff nurses about osteoporosis prevention. This study also aimed to give staff nurses information on osteoporosis prevention.

Materials and Methods

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted for a period of three months from June 2021 to August 2021 at a tertiary care hospital in Chennai, among the population consisting of staff nurses between one and twenty years of experience. A total of 30 staff nurses were selected for this study by a convenient sampling technique after receiving the ethical committee permissions from the institution with a reference number VMRF/2021/029. Staff nurses who are working in our institution and willing to participate with a minimum of one-year experience after completing their graduation or post-graduation in nursing were included in the study. Staff nurses who are still in their study period or those who have more than 20 years of experience were excluded from the study. A demographic profile consisting of age, designation, qualification, and experience was noted from each individual involved. A structured interview questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge on prevention of osteoporosis among staff nurses, which consisted of 25 questions. The correct answer carried one point in scoring, and the wrong answer carries zero score. The scores were interpreted as <50% = inadequate knowledge, 51%–75% = moderately adequate knowledge >75% = adequate knowledge.

Statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of demographic variables and level of knowledge regarding prevention of osteoporosis. The outcomes of demographic variables were described as frequencies and percentages.

Results

The findings of the current study revealed that 16.7% of the respondents belong to the age group of 25–30 years and 30% of the staff nurses were in the age group of 36–40 years and 26.6% of the respondents belong to 31–35 and 41–45 respectively. With respect to the designation, majority, 25 (83%) of samples were staff nurses and 5 (17%) were head nurses. Regarding the qualification, 26 (87%) individuals belonged to GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery), and 4 (13%) were BSc/PBBSc (Bachelor of Science/Post Basic Bachelor of Science in Nursing). Regarding respondent's experience, majority, 13 (43%) of samples were with 11–15 years of experience, 8 (27%) were 16–20 years of experience, 6 (20%) of them were 6–20 years of experience, and 3 (10%) of them were 1–5 years of experience [Table 1]. Around 47% of the study participants had inadequate level of knowledge regarding prevention of osteoporosis, 1% of sample had more than adequate level of knowledge, 10% of the staff nurses had adequate knowledge, and 43% of the samples had moderate level of knowledge regarding the prevention of osteoporosis [Table 2].

Table 1: Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Demographic Variables of Study Participants

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Table 2: Level of Knowledge on Prevention of Osteoporosis Among Study Participants

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Discussion

Among the 30 staff nurses included in the study, majority (30%) of them belonged to the age group between 36 and 40 years, which is in accordance to a study by Danish SH et al.^[11] Nurses carry the responsibility of improving community health by preventing the disease and disability of a person and protecting health among the vulnerable groups. As a result, nurses must be aware of the danger of osteoporosis and offer early counseling to residents.^[12] Hence, they must be primarily aware of such pathology so as to guide and inform the individuals of the community. Nurses can discuss preventive techniques that can assist to prevent or slow the progression of osteoporosis in the community. A study conducted by M.S. Riaz et al. to assess the knowledge of nurses regarding prevention of osteoporosis among nurses of Pakistan has concluded that nurses have moderate knowledge about risk factors and prevention of osteoporosis, which is a similar finding observed by our study.^[13] A study by Chan Ho Park et al. to assess the knowledge on osteoporosis among health-care providers particularly in nurses revealed that the level of knowledge on osteoporosis among the majority of nurses was insufficient concerning the effects of weight, physical exercise, and calcium intake during adolescence.^[14] A study by Kanchan Dwidmuthe et al. concluded that knowledge about osteoporosis among nursing staff was less and more efforts are required to be done to increase their knowledge about osteoporosis for better patient care.^[15]

Conclusion

The goal of the study was to determine the level of knowledge among staff nurses about osteoporosis prevention. Overall, nurses have little to moderate awareness of osteoporosis, according to the findings. Nurses feel that they play a critical role in health-care delivery. As a result, nurses must make more efforts to improve their understanding of osteoporosis prevention and treatment in order to provide better patient care.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

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