ASSESSMENT OF NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE TOWARD HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS IN KARACHI

Abstract

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) continue to be a major public health problem worldwide, in terms of patient safety, quality of healthcare and healthcare costs . Nurses are key in preventing HAIs by following infection prevention and control practices. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and practice of nurses regarding prevention of hospital acquired infections in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi. This study was conducted using a descriptive cross sectional research design. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic data and knowledge and practice in the prevention of hospital acquired infections from 36 nurses. The participants were recruited using a non-probability convenience sampling method in which participants were available and willing to participate during the data collection period. The study was performed according to the ethical guidelines, after permission of the hospital administration and informed consent of the participants. Confidentiality, anonymity, and voluntary participation were assured. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. The results showed that the majority of participants were aged between 23 and 30 years (88.9%) and male (91.7%). The majority of the participants had a BSN (50.0%) or RN (47.2%) credential. The mean knowledge score was 5.72±1.03 indicating moderate level of knowledge and the mean practice score was 7.81±3.12 indicating moderate level of practice regarding prevention of hospital acquired infections. The study showed that the nurses had moderate knowledge and practice about prevention of HAIs. The study suggests that regular infection prevention training programmes, continuous professional education, monitoring adherence to infection control guidelines and reinforcement of hospital infection prevention policies can improve nurses’ knowledge and clinical practices.