Barriers to the management of ventilator-associated pneumonia: A qualitative study of critical care nurses' experiences

Abstract

Background & Aims: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is associated with serious complications such as morbidity and mortality, prolonged hospital stay, and great financial burden. The purpose of this study was to explore critical care nurses' experiences of the barriers to VAP management. Materials & Methods: This descriptive qualitative study was done in 2015 using the conventional content analysis approach. A purposive sample of twelve critical care nurses was selected. Data were collected through unstructured interviews and focus group discussions. Graneheim and Lundman's qualitative content analysis was employed for data analysis. The trustworthiness of the data and the findings was ensured by adopting the criteria proposed by Lincoln and Guba. Results: The major barriers to VAP management were low quality of working life and poor organizational culture. Conclusion: Nurses can help manage effective VAP through learning new and standard approaches to care delivery and adhering to standards of care.