Intensive Care Nurses' Awareness, Attitudes and Practices Related to Eye Care

BACKGROUND: Patients admitted to the intensive care unit are at risk of ocular complications. Therefore, nurses should have enough knowledge, a positive attitude and appropriate practices to assess and diagnose ocular disorders among ICU patients correctly. AIM: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of ICU nurses about eye care and the associated factors. STUDY DESIGN: In this analytical cross-sectional study, the data collection tool consisted of a two-part questionnaire: demographic details and a 35-item assessment of knowledge, attitudes and performance in eye care, covering these three domains. Data were analysed in SPSS version 23 using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS: A total of 244 nurses were enrolled using a census sampling method. The results indicated that the knowledge scores of the nurses were below the average (7 ± 2.8), attitude within the desirable range (31.3 ± 3.3) and practice scores above the average (41.6 ± 6.1). There is a significant positive correlation of the nurses' practice scores with attitude scores (r = 0.477, p ≤ 0.001) and not with knowledge scores (p = 0.665). Positive attitudes (r = 0.885, p ≤ 0.001), the presence of eye care protocols in ICUs (r = 2.204, p = 0.002) and completion of eye care training courses (r = 2.219, p = 0.023) positively influenced the nurses' practice scores. CONCLUSIONS: To address gaps in nurses' knowledge, attitudes and performance regarding eye care, our findings support implementing targeted educational interventions (e.g., simulation-based training) and adopting evidence-based protocols in intensive care units. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Strengthening ICU nurses' awareness and skills in eye care through standardized training and evidence-based protocols can improve patient safety and care quality. Integrating eye care into routine nursing education supports consistent best practice in intensive care settings.