Intensive Care Unit Nurses' Knowledge Regarding Chest Physiotherapy

Chest physiotherapy is a critical interventional technique used in intensive care units to
manage respiratory complications, improve lung function, and prevent potential respiratory-related
complications in critically ill patients. Nurses play a vital role treating patients in the intensive care
unit. Chest physiotherapy is often administered by nurses. as it requires nurses to have specialized
knowledge and skills in chest percussion, vibration, deep breathing, postural drainage, and
manually-assisted cough techniques. This study aims to assess nurses’ knowledge regarding chest
physiotherapy at Kirkuk city Hospitals. A non-experimental cross-sectional design was utilized in
this study from December 2024 to April 2025. A non-probability (purposive) sampling technique
was used to collect data in the intensive care unit at Azadi Teaching Hospital and Kirkuk Teaching
Hospital in Kirkuk, Iraq. There were 77 nurses in the study. The researcher constructed a
questionnaire form to gather data on nurses' knowledge of chest physiotherapy. The questionnaires
were sent to a panel of ten experts in various fields to ensure the tool's validity, and they were
modified according to with their recommendations. The study results were analyzed using
statistical data analysis methods in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0.
Frequencies, percentages, mean scores (MS), and standard deviation (SD) were used for descriptive
data analysis. Inferential data analysis was also used to draw logical conclusions. Results show that
a substantial portion of nurses are in the age group of 25-29 years old, and most of them are female.
The nurse's knowledge of the “Chest Percussion and Vibration Technique" was mostly high level.
About three quarters of nurses (71.43%) had assessed a high level concerning "Deep Breathing
Technique.” Finding nurses' knowledge of "Manually Assisted Cough Technique," results showed
that (57.14%) had assessed at a high level; also, "Postural Drainage," results showed that (57.14%)
had assessed at a moderate level. Finally, the finding of the study shows that the nurses’ knowledge
had a highly significant relationship with nurses’ experience in the intensive care unit. Most of the
nurses possess a high level of knowledge regarding chest physiotherapy. And there is a highly
significant relationship between nurses’ knowledge concerning chest physiotherapy and their
experience in the intensive care unit.