European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE AMONG NURSES REGARDING NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION

Foyzunnasa*, Afroja Khatun, Most. Rahana Akter, Swapna Biswas and Monoara Khatun

ABSTRACT

Background: Nosocomial infections are obtained when undergoing medical care that wasn't present at admission. Nosocomial infections are the most common adverse incident that impacts patient safety in healthcare. They place a heavy financial strain on patients, families, and healthcare systems and significantly increase morbidity and mortality. But their policies are based on the expertise of the nurses and other medical personnel. The nurses' knowledge and practice level of hospital-acquired infections should be adequate. Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional study was performed at Khulna Medical College Hospital, Khulna, Bangladesh between November 2018 and January 2019. The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practice levels among the nurses. The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practice levels among the nurses on nosocomial infections. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of 208 nurses using a validated instrument. Results: The study showed that shows that below half of the nurses had a good knowledge level of 104 (40.0%), as well as above half of the nurses 145 (56.0%), had fair knowledge, while only 11 (4.0%) nurse’s knowledge level had poor. According to their practice, shows that above half of the nurses had a good practice level of 158 (61.0%), as well as below half of the nurses 96 (37.0%) had fair practice, while only 06 (2.0%) nurses' practice level had poor. Pearson correlation test was performed between knowledge and practice on nosocomial infection and there is moderate relationship was found (r = 039, at P < 0.002). Conclusion: Regardless of the patient's diagnosis, nurses should incorporate practices for preventing nosocomial infections into their daily routines. These practices include updating knowledge, improving operational guidelines and policies for preventing nosocomial infections, regularly supplying materials for infection prevention, and routinely immunizing and screening staff for hepatitis B.

Keywords: Knowledge and Practice, Nurses, Nosocomial infection, Bangladesh.