Nurses’ Knowledge toward Bariatric Surgery at Surgical Wards at Teaching Hospitals in Al-Basra City

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the level of nurses’ knowledge about bariatric surgery and to find the relationship
between Nurses’ knowledge about bariatric surgery and their demographic characteristics (age, gender, level
of education, and years of experience). A descriptive-analytic study was conducted on nurses’ knowledge
toward bariatric surgery at surgical wards at Al-Sader Teaching Hospital, Al-Faiha Teaching Hospital, and
Al-Mawani Teaching Hospital in Al-Basra City. The period of the study was extended from the 15th of
November 2020 to the fifth of April 2021. Purposive (non-probability) sample covers (100) nurses who
work in the surgical wards, a questionnaire was designed to investigate nurses’ demographics, knowledge
toward obesity, bariatric surgery, complications of bariatric surgery, and postoperative nursing care and
patient education. The results of this study showed that 85% of studied nurses had poor knowledge about
bariatric surgery, 14% of nurses had moderate knowledge and only 1% of nurses had good knowledge.