Vol. 2, Issue 2, Part A (2025)

Oxygen therapy is a fundamental and widely used clinical intervention across diverse healthcare settings, particularly in emergency, critical care, and postoperative units. When administered correctly, it improves tissue oxygenation, enhances cellular metabolism, and reduces morbidity among patients with respiratory compromise. However, global evidence shows that inappropriate administration such as incorrect flow rates, improper device selection, poor monitoring, and inadequate documentation remains one of the most frequent nursing-related clinical hazards. Studies have consistently reported that nurses often lack adequate training, standardized clinical guidelines, and updated knowledge on safe oxygen delivery practices, contributing to preventable complications such as oxygen toxicity, carbon dioxide retention in COPD patients, nosocomial infections, and fire-related hazards in oxygen-enriched environments. While oxygen is considered a “drug” in most clinical frameworks, including the WHO and national guidelines, adherence to its safe administration standards continues to remain suboptimal in low-resource settings, largely due to heavy workload, inadequate supervision, skill gaps, and absence of periodic competency assessments.
This research aims to evaluate nurses’ knowledge and practices regarding safe oxygen therapy administration, recognizing the crucial role nurses play in assessing patient oxygen needs, selecting appropriate delivery devices, titrating flow rates, monitoring clinical responses, and preventing complications. Previous research indicates that a significant proportion of nurses rely on experiential learning rather than evidence-based protocols, highlighting the need for systematic evaluation and structured training programs. Understanding the existing knowledge gaps and practice discrepancies is essential for improving patient safety, strengthening clinical decision-making, and enhancing the quality of respiratory care services. This research hypothesizes that nurses with higher levels of formal training, clinical experience, and exposure to updated guidelines will demonstrate significantly better knowledge and practice scores compared to those without such training. The findings are expected to contribute to policy formulation, staff development, and implementation of standardized oxygen therapy protocols within healthcare institutions.