Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude of Maternity Nurses regarding Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Collection and Banking

Abstract

Back ground: Umbilical cord blood banking and collection is the process of collecting and storing umbilical cord blood in the immediate period after the birth of a baby. Cord blood is considered as an alternative to bone marrow for treatment of blood immune system and metabolic disorders because of its rich source of stem cells and considered the therapy for over 80medical condition. Design: A descriptive study design was utilized .Setting: The study was conducted at obstetrics & gynecological department at Benha University hospital. Sampling: A convenient sample included 60 nurse. Tools of data collection: Two tools were used tool (I)A structured interviewing questionnaire to assess nurse's knowledge regarding umbilical cord stem cell collection and banking. tool(II) Modified likert scale to assess maternity nurse's attitude. Results: More than two thirds of maternity Nurses had poor knowledge regarding umbilical cord stem cell collection and banking , additionally, more than half of studied sample had negative attitude .Also, there was a highly positive statistically significant correlation between total knowledge and total attitude scores of the studied nurses regarding umbilical cord stem cell collection and banking. Conclusion: Nearly more than two thirds and more than half of the studied nurses had poor knowledge and negative attitude regarding umbilical cord blood stem cell collection and banking respectively. Recommendation: An educational guideline regarding stem cell collection and banking should be available at all maternity departments to help nurses to acquire the basic knowledge and practices.