A KAP study among staff and student nurses about infection control in Theodor Bilharz Hospital

The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of staff and student nurses in Theodor Bilharz Research Institute Hospital towards simple protective measures such as: hand washing practices, recapping of syringe needles after use, and their awareness of Hepatitis B and C viruses prevention and control. A questionnaire is designed and distributed to all student nurses in the school (41 students out of 45), and to all staff nurses working in the hospital (39 nurses out of 50), with a total of 80 out of 95. Scoring system is used for data analysis. The overall scoring of KAP for the three items studied are below 80%, which means that they really need health education about these items. Thus, it is very important to create public awareness in the hospital community, and among nurses about the concept of infection control. This will be done through formal and informal instructions, by organizing regular courses and posters. It is very essential to provide safe disposal of syringe needles in special containers, have facilities for hand washing during work and apply HB vaccine for nurses working in the hospital. Meanwhile, a highly motivated behavior should be enabled and reinforced through realization of the regulatory and organizational factors for better implementation arrangement, which all supplement the educational intervention directed to change rather than just planning.