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Published on: July 13, 2019
Knowledge and Observed Practices of Hospital-Acquired Infection Prevention Guidelines Among Nurses Working in
Abedallah Y Kasem1, Huda Kh Ahmad1,2, Nadin M Abdel Razeq3
1Department of Maternal and Child Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan, just.edu.jo.
Background:
Hospital-acquired infection (HAI) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in neonates. Knowledge and practice of infection prevention guidelines are the cornerstone to minimizing HAI among sick and preterm neonates in intensive care units (NICU).
Objectives:
To assess neonatal nurses' knowledge and observed practices of HAI prevention guidelines and to determine their most important contributing factors.
Design:
A cross-sectional descriptive observational design was applied.
Setting:
NICUs of two large teaching hospitals in the northern region of Jordan.
Participants:
Neonatal nurses (n = 85) working full-time at the selected NICUs.
Primary And Secondary Outcome Measures:
Neonatal nurses' knowledge level and observed practices regarding HAI prevention guidelines were assessed through a self-administered questionnaire and a structured observation checklist developed in accordance with the WHO and CDC infection control guidelines.
Results:
Knowledge levels about HAI prevention guidelines were rated good in 65% of participants, fair in 34%, and poor in 1%. Observed HAI prevention practices were good in 12.9% of participating nurses, fair in 71.8%, and poor in 15.3% of participants. No significant correlation was found between nurses' knowledge and their observed practice. However, knowledge was significantly correlated with workplace and attending infection prevention courses (p < 0.05), while good practice levels were positively correlated with educational level (p = 0.044), but negatively correlated with age, years of experience, and workplace (p = 0.013, p = 0.023, p = 0.001, respectively).
Conclusion:
Despite being knowledgeable, NICU nurses in our study demonstrated suboptimal practices of HAI prevention guidelines. This knowledge-practice gap highlights the importance of reinforcing infection prevention through ongoing education, supportive institutional measures, and regular monitoring. Such efforts may help strengthen adherence to safe infection prevention practices and enhance the quality of neonatal care. Future studies with larger and more diverse samples are recommended to validate these findings and explore contextual factors influencing practice.
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