Knowledge and practices regarding the handling of neonatal incubators among nursing professionals

Abstract Objectives To compare knowledge and practices regarding the handling of neonatal incubators among nurses and nursing technicians/aides. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the neonatal unit of a reference hospital, with data obtained via a questionnaire about the professionals' knowledge and direct, structured and nonparticipant observation of nursing team practices when handling incubators. The researchers developed a score to represent the adequateness of the practices observed. Results No difference was observed between the two studied groups in terms of knowledge in handling incubators, except for knowledge about the benefit of humidification, cited mostly by nurses (p=0.040). No differences were observed when comparing practice scores obtained individually and the overall score (p=0.723). The incubator practices of nursing technicians/aides and nurses were 70% adequate, which is a low percentage considering the hospital's high complexity. Conclusion In general, there was no difference between the nursing team members with regards to the studied knowledge and practices.