Nurses' Levels of Knowledge and Practice Regarding Preoperative Hair Removal and Prevention of Surgical Site Infection

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate nurses' levels of knowledge and practice regarding preoperative hair removal and prevention of surgical site infection (SSI). Methods: The descriptive and cross-sectional research was conducted between February 2023 and May 2023 in a public hospital in northern Turkey with 123 nurses who agreed to participate in the study. Results: The results showed that 64.2% of the nurses thought that preoperative hair removal should be done by shaving with a razor, 74% thought that hair removal should be performed the night before the operation, and 70.7% thought that the patient/patient's relative should perform preoperative hair removal. Conclusions: This study found that nurses' levels of knowledge and practice regarding preoperative hair removal and prevention of SSI were not at the desired level. Following current resources and improving their levels of knowledge and practices are considered to be important for nurses. © 2025 Hatice Hilal Cangi Akcan et al., published by Sciendo.