Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses Regarding Stem Cells and Umbilical Cord Blood Banking in a Selected Tertiary Care Facility

Background: Umbilical cord blood banking (UCBB) was alien concept in India until a few years back and now it is gaining popularity.

Method: A cross sectional survey was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of 56 nurses enrolled from the labour room and maternity ward of the facility. Pre-validated and tested self-developed knowledge questionnaire and attitude scale were used to collect data regarding stem cells and UCBB.

Results: Most of the nurses had good knowledge (42.86%) and neutral attitude (78.6%) with a mean knowledge and attitude score of 16.84 ± 4.59 and 53.75 ± 8.26 respectively. None of the nurses received any pre-service or in-service education regarding stem cells and UCBB, however 17 nurses assisted/witnessed UCBB and all these nurses were from labour room. All of the nurses expressed that they wanted to have more information regarding stem cells and UCBB. Majority (62.5%) of the nurses had heard about UCBB and reported other health care workers (74.28%) as their knowledge source. There was a positive correlation between knowledge and attitude scores of nurses (r=0.532, p<0.01). Nurses who witnessed/assisted UCBB had significantly higher knowledge (p=0.01) and attitude (p=0.009) scores than that of nurses who did not witnessed/assisted. Participants who heard about UCBB earlier had significantly better knowledge (p=0.0008) than those who did not heard about UCBB. Attitude scores of the nurses was significantly associated with their professional educational status ((p=0.026).

Conclusion: Nurses had good knowledge and neutral attitude regarding stem cells and UCBB. They wanted to have more information.