EFFECT OF GUIDELINES ABOUT ENTERAL FEEDING FOR PRETERM INFANTS ON NURSES' KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES

Abstract

Background: Administration of enteral feeding has long been considered the standard of care for nutritional support in neonatal intensive care units. Good nutritional support is a primary nursing role, therefore, nurses should have adequate knowledge and practice for caring for preterm infants with enteral feeding Aim: to evaluate the effect of guidelines about enteral feeding for preterm infants on nurses’ knowledge and practices. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was utilized at two neonatal intensive care units of El Manial University Hospital (Kaser Al Aini) and Cairo University Children’s Hospital (El Monira) from December 2024 to May 2025. A convenient sample of fifty bedside nurses working at both previous settings was included using two tools: Structured questionnaire and observational checklist regarding enteral feeding for preterm infants. Results: The study revealed that nurses' level and total mean scores knowledge and practice of enteral feeding significantly improved after intervention at immediate post and follow up compared to pre intervention phase. There was a strong positive correlation between nurses’ knowledge and their practices regarding enteral feeding. No correlations were detected between nurses’ knowledge or practice and their personal characteristics across all study phases except for age and their qualification. Conclusion: The implemented guidelines about enteral feeding for pre-term infants had a significant positive impact on nurses' knowledge and practices at post and follow up intervention, in which nurses who received guidelines had higher mean post- test scores of knowledge and practices compared to pretest. Recommendation: All bedside nurses who work at neonatal intensive care units should be educated and trained periodically about safe administration of enteral feeding.