Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward infection control precautions among medical students in Jordan: A...

Infection control is an essential component of healthcare and vital for ensuring the safety of patients and healthcare professionals. This study aims to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) among medical students in Jordan.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to October 2024 among medical students enrolled in six Jordanian universities. Stratified random sampling was used to select participants across academic years (2^nd to 6^th year). Data were collected via a validated, self-administered online questionnaire adapted and translated for Jordanian students.

Of 453 medical students, 58.1% demonstrated good knowledge, 75.5% positive attitudes, and 78.6% good practices toward infection control precautions. Females represented 67.5% of participants. Students with excellent and very good microbiology GPAs had higher odds of positive attitudes (OR = 3.89, 95% CI: 1.21-12.48; P = 0.022 and OR = 3.02, 95% CI: 1.05-8.69; P = 0.04, respectively). Male students were less likely to demonstrate good practices (OR = 0.518, 95% CI: 0.323-0.831; P = 0.006). Overall, students exhibited high (>70%) attitudes and practices toward infection control.

Inclusion of these practices in clinical curricula is essential to improve infection control. The most significant gap was the ability to perform a risk assessment correctly, which is critical to national Infection Control and Prevention policies. This is the first and largest multi-institutional study assessing KAP toward infection control among medical students in Jordan, highlighting the need for policy-aligned curriculum improvements to strengthen future healthcare competencies.