Educational needs in patient care practices in Hong Kong

Area of Science:

• Infection Control
• Nursing Education
• Hospital Epidemiology

Background:

• Effective infection surveillance and control programs are crucial in hospital settings.
• Understanding healthcare staff educational needs is vital for program success.
• Previous research has not fully delineated specific needs across diverse clinical units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey nurses' perceptions of educational needs for infection control programs.
• To identify variations in educational priorities across different hospital clinical units.
• To inform the development of targeted in-service education strategies.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted with 720 nurses across 10 hospitals in Hong Kong.
• Nurses selected educational needs from six key infection control topics.
• Clinical units were categorized into medical, surgical, and pediatric groups based on identified needs.

Main Results:

• Nurses in medically oriented units (medical, geriatric, obstetric, ICU) prioritized isolation procedures and disinfection.
• Nurses in surgically oriented units (surgical, orthopedic, gynecologic) identified surgical wound care as the highest need.
• Pediatric units showed needs similar to medical units but with a higher focus on preventing hospital-acquired pneumonia.

Conclusions:

• Clinical unit type significantly influences perceived educational needs in infection control.
• In-service education programs must be tailored to the specific requirements of different units.
• Addressing these identified needs can enhance the effectiveness of hospital infection control initiatives.