Study on the transfusion representation by nurses and midwives at the university hospital of Brest.

INTRODUCTION: Every day, large numbers of patients benefit from effective transfusion substitution therapy, through transfusion procedures that are generally safe and reliable. This care practice is complex, due to its history through the ages, ethical aspects linked to the donation of blood from one human to another, and the procedures and protocols linked to it. Nurses are a key link in the transfusion chain and are directly affected by the procedures implemented to limit transfusion risks. In this research study, we studied the nurses' and midwives' representations of transfusion, to evaluate their possible effects on transfusion practices. METHODOLOGY: With the aid of the various actors involved in transfusion, we developed and tested a questionnaire, which was then sent to 690 professionals in 69 care units. RESULTS: In total, 491 questionnaires were analyzed, corresponding to a response rate of 71%. The data collected revealed a strong feeling of responsibility among the healthcare staff questioned, with great attention paid to transfusion safety. The risk to the patient is very much taken into account by these professionals, who consider transfusion to be a healthcare practice unlike any other, generating a certain stress that affected all those questioned, regardless of the number of years they had been in practice, but was tempered by knowledge. CONCLUSION: This survey shows that nurses and midwives are very aware of the risks of transfusion to the patient, and that they take these risks into account with the same diligence throughout their careers. It would be useful to carry out semi-directed interviews to refine some of these results further.

[Evaluation of midwives transfusion knowledge in Brittany public and private maternities, 2014]. / Évaluation des connaissances transfusionnelles des sages-femmes dans les maternités publiques et privées de la région Bretagne en 2014.

OBJECTIVES: This regional study aims to evaluate the transfusion knowledge of midwives in 22 Brittany maternity hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicentre, descriptive and comparative study used a questionnaire consisting in 16 theoretical questions about transfusion and questions being carried out. The analysis used the rate of correct answers and a pondered coefficient has been assigned to the different questions to evaluate the level of midwife knowledge. RESULTS: Twenty-two maternity hospitals participated in the study and 238 returned questionnaires could be analysed, a return rate of 36%. The rate of correct answers was between 5 and 98% depending on the questions; for example, the rate of correct answers of the ultimate control's reading varied between 64 and 98% and revealed that 5 to 7% of midwives would validate an incompatible transfusion. The average score was 31/50 with a minimum of 7/50 and a maximum of 44/50. Three statically significant links have been found according to the last year of training specific to blood transfusion, the graduation year and the level of maternity. CONCLUSION: This study revealed an insufficient knowledge of the transfusion among midwives and raised prospects, which could lead to an improvement of training courses offered to midwives.