Investigation of Turkish nurses frequency and knowledge of administration of intramuscular injections to the ventrogluteal site: Results from questionnaires

Abstract

Background: Intramuscular injection is important in the administration of parenteral medication and is a frequently-performed nursing responsibility. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the frequency of use of the ventrogluteal site and the level of nurses' knowledge of administering an intramuscular injection to this site. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted of nurses working in four hospitals (n = 362). Data collection tools included a 12 item sociodemographic questionnaire and a 24 item questionnaire on knowledge of the ventrogluteal site for intramuscular injection. Findings: 17.1% of participants reported using the VG site frequently in intramuscular injections. On the other hand, 35.9% reported that they do not use the VG site in intramuscular injections just because they are not used to giving injections on this site. Level of knowledge of ventrogluteal site was also limited with the mean score of correct answers from 24 questions being 14.37. Conclusion: It was found in the study that nurses' knowledge of the ventrogluteal site was limited, and they are not preferentially using the ventrogluteal site for intramuscular injections to adults even though it is recommended in recent nursing literature.