An Analysis of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices regarding Standard Precautions of Infection Control and Impact of Knowledge and Attitude of ICU Nurses on Self-reported Practices of Infection Control
Authors: Kaushal Ginny , Doke Prakash , Shah Aejaz , Verma Vivek 
Published: September 2019

ABSTRACT

Context
World Health Organization (WHO) defines healthcareassociated infection (HCAI) as infection acquired in hospital or a healthcare setting by a patient who was admitted for a reason other than that infection. The healthcare associated infections are one of the leading causes of mortality, morbidity and increase cost. Adherence to standard precautions for infection control and simple techniques like effective hand hygiene is essential for reducing healthcare associated infections. However, compliance of healthcare workers to hand hygiene (HH) guidelines are reportedly poor. It is important, therefore, to instill adequate knowledge and good attitudes and practices at the time of primary training of the healthcare workers. This study is an attempt to identify gaps in knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) to improve existing training programs and give recommendation to enhance good practices in the future.

Aims
The aim of the study is to analyze KAP of nursing professionals of intensive care units (ICUs) in a tertiary care hospital and to find the impact of knowledge and attitude of the ICU nurses on self-reported practices.

Settings and design
The study design is a survey research which has used a self-administered questionnaire to compare the KAP of nursing professionals of an ICU in a tertiary care hospital.

Materials and methods
The WHO standard precautions for infection control were used as a guideline for preparing the self-administered questionnaire. The scoring system was based on a study done by Uba et al (2015).

Statistical analysis
Correlation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to establish associations between the independent and dependent variables.

Results
Participants had an average level of knowledge (79%), good attitude (89%) toward infection control guidelines and very good self-reported practices (91%). The collective KAP score of all the participants is good (85%) which indicates that average levels of knowledge are balanced by good attitude and very good practices. However, good knowledge is crucial for ensuring expected levels of infection control practices, and hence ensures patient safety.

Conclusion
To achieve an environment of patient safety, it is essential that the healthcare staff should have sound knowledge and positive attitude. The study shows the need for further improvement of the existing infection control training programs to address the gaps in KAP.

Key message
Good knowledge and positive attitude are essential for attaining expected levels of infection control practices among critical care nurses.

How to cite this article
Kaushal G, Doke P, Shah A, Verma V. An Analysis of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices regarding Standard Precautions of Infection Control and Impact of Knowledge and Attitude of ICU Nurses on Self-reported Practices of Infection Control. Int J Res Foundation Hosp Healthc Adm 2015;3(2):79-85.