The Evaluation of Surgical Nurses’ Knowledge and Applications on The Care of Overweight/ Obese People

Aim: The present descriptive study was conducted in order to evaluate the knowledge, application and the degree of willingness of nurses to care for overweight and obese people who experience surgical intervention.

Method: The study was carried out with the application of questioner form prepared by the researcher with literature to nurses and non-nurses who are working in nurse statute cause of the lack of employees (health officer, midwife, emergency medical technician-EMT, community health technician) in a university surgical clinics. Percentage, frequency, chi-square, Fisher chi-square statistics tests have been used on the evaluation of the data.

Results: It is found out that 55% of the research participants are license graduate, 73% of them are department of nursing graduate and 57% of them are in normal weight, 69% of them stated there isn’t enough equipment for the care of overweight and obese patient in their department, 52% of them are reluctant to care for overweight and obese patient.

Conclusion: It is found out that knowledge and application of special care to overweight and obese patient is variable to education and department of graduation, men are more reluctant than women, slim medical staff are more reluctant than normal and overweight/obese ones to care for overweight and obese patient.