Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, İç Hastalıkları AD, Geriatri BD- Isparta

Adverse health effects due to immobilization involve multiple organ systems. In frail elderly, even few days of bed rest can have long-lasting functional curtailments. However medical practitioners frequently recommend bed rest for a number of clinical conditions. Whenever bed rest is unavoidable, recommended preventive measures may reduce the complications of immobility. Semi-recumbent positioning is a simple and low- cost measure for preventing pneumonia particularly in high risk patients. This study was conducted in May-June 2003 to assess the knowledge and beliefs of Suleyman Demirel University Hospital health care personnel on the indications of bed rest and health effects of semi-recumbent positioning through a questionnaire. Most of the interviewed medical staff (78-80%) had misconceptions about the indications or optimum duration of bed rest in different clinical conditions (acute myocardid infarction, low back pain, pulmonary tuberculosis and acute infectious hepatitis). Though 91A% of them thought semi-recumbency was helpful in reducing pneumonia, only 60% thought that this may work in unconscious patients. More than half of the medical staff did not perceive risk of fail and pressure sores as potential complications of semi-recumbency. Our findings show that there is a knowledge deficit on indications of bed rest and health effects of semi-recumbency. Future studies are warranted to address this defini and improve education for better health outcomes.