الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Maintenance of skin integrity in hospitalized patients is a critical component of nursing care. Immobility-related pressure ulcers are defined as localized areas of tissue destruction that develop when soft tissue is compressed between a bony prominence and an external surface for a prolonged time. Aim: To assess the nurses’ performance regarding maintaining skin integrity for children in pediatric intensive care units. Design: A descriptive design was used. Setting: The study was conducted at (PICUs) affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospitals and Health Insurance Hospital affiliated to Ministry of Health in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt. Subjects: A convenient sample included (100 nurses) in the previously mentioned settings. 10 nurses were excluded during pilot study and another 10 nurses didn’t included the collecting of data because they were in night shift, so the actual study subjects were 80 nurses. Tools: A structured interviewing questionnaire, to assess nurses’ characteristics and their knowledge regarding maintaining and factors affecting skin integrity, Observational checklist, to assess nurses’ practice in maintaining skin integrity for PICU children. Results: The present study revealed that the mean age of studied nurses was (29.88 ±8.81); often two thirds of studied nurses had average level of total knowledge whereas less than half of the studied nurses had incompetent level of practice regarding care of skin integrity. Conclusion: The current study findings concluded that often two thirds of studied nurses had average level of total knowledge. While less than half of the studied nurses had incompetent level of practices regarding care of skin among children in PICU. In addition, there was relation between nurses’ level of knowledge and their practice. Recommendations: Collaborating, developing nursing guidelines about care of skin and continuing education of nurses’ staff in the Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) are vital to improve their knowledge and practice about marinating skin integrity, Counseling services prevention, detection and management of pressure ulcer should be available in each study setting in addition to providing PICU nurses with brochures, booklets, intervention media program containing simple information about the skin integrity of PICU children.