Knowledge And Attitude Towards Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections Among Nurses: a Cross Sectional Study Conducted In Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Hospital-acquired infections are most common in hospital setting especially in developing countries. Nurse’s knowledge and attitude can play an important role in preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections. Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitudes of nurses towards preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections in a selected hospital setting. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital using a survey based questionnaire (15-item) to assess knowledge and attitude of nurses. Descriptive analysis was used to calculate frequency, percentage, mean, p-value and correlation between variables. Result: A total 108 nurses (95% confidence interval) were included in this study with a 100% response rate. The average mean knowledge score among nurses was 53%, and the average mean attitude score was 57%, with P>0.05. Mostly nurses’ show poor level of knowledge towards hospital acquired infections. Conclusion: Study highlights a poor level of knowledge and attitude among nurses toward hospital-acquired infections prevention. Through proper education, regular training programs, and with institutional support nurses’ competency in hospital-acquired infection prevention can be improved.

Keywords: Hospital-Acquired Infections, Knowledge, Nurses