Compliance with standard precautions and associated factors among undergraduate nursing students at governmental universities of Amhara region, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Standard precautions are minimum infection control practices used to prevent the transmission of diseases and applied to all patient care. Nursing students are at high risk of exposure to occupational biologic hazards because they are obligated to provide care to patients admitted with unknown infection statuses. Compliance with standard precautions is an effective and efficient means of infection prevention. However, their compliance with standard precautions among nursing students is not known in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess compliance with standard precautions and associated factors among undergraduate BSc nursing students at governmental universities located in the Amhara Region, northwest Ethiopia. Methods An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate BSc nursing students at the governmental universities located in Amhara Region, northwest Ethiopia, from April 15 to May 15, 2021. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 423 samples. Descriptive statistics were presented in text, tables, and charts. Multicollinearity and model fitness were checked. All variables were entered into multivariable logistic regression and a P-value of < 0.05 was considered to identify statistically significant factors. Result Around 221 (53.4%) of the study participants were males. Good compliance of nursing students towards standard precautions was 56.3% (95% CI = 51.4–60.9), which is significantly associated with good knowledge (AOR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.61–3.94), a perceived safe workplace climate (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.24–3.71), and training or seminars related to standard precautions in the last six months (AOR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.01–2.29). Conclusion The overall compliance of nursing students with standard precautions was low, with nearly half of the nursing students failing to comply with standard precautions. The major factors associated with good compliance were good knowledge, a perceived safe workplace, and having seminars or training in the last six months. Training, enhancing knowledge, and creating a safe hospital environment are recommended to improve nursing students’ compliance with standard precautions.

Link of Infection Prevention Climate to Patient-Centered Care: Role of Workplace Safety and Risk Mitigation

“…An optimal infection prevention climate is believed to drive workplace safety, representing the shared perception built by management to support safety regarding IPC in hospitals. 21 Workplace safety, influenced by the availability of zoning divisions, supply of quality personal protective equipment (PPE), and management of isolation for infectious patients, contributes to healthcare workers' adherence to standard precautions, thereby safeguarding patients from HAIs. 10,21 Thus, workplace safety is posited to be related to patient-centered care.…”

“…21 Workplace safety, influenced by the availability of zoning divisions, supply of quality personal protective equipment (PPE), and management of isolation for infectious patients, contributes to healthcare workers' adherence to standard precautions, thereby safeguarding patients from HAIs. 10,21 Thus, workplace safety is posited to be related to patient-centered care. Consequently, the following hypotheses are presented: H2: There is a relationship between infection prevention climate and workplace safety.…”

“…The infection prevention climate fosters workplace safety through the availability of IPC resources, supporting health workers, and enhancing the quality of health services. 10,21…”

Using Kern model to design, implement, and evaluate an infection control program for improving knowledge and performance among undergraduate nursing students: a mixed methods study

“…However, one study has reported that, there is poor knowledge of students regarding infection control and prevention practices in undergraduate nursing programs [ 14 ]. Researcher reported that due to the nature of care, nursing students have more contact with patients than other students, according to these reports, more than half of nursing students had a history of needle sticks and more than a third of them had a history of contact with blood and secretions [ 15 ]. Another researcher stated that infection control programs should be added to the undergraduate curriculum [ 16 ].…”

“…Considering that the knowledge of nursing students about infection control is low [ 14 , 15 ] and since students have the responsibility of taking care of themselves, their families and patients, and on the other hand, nursing education teachers have the responsibility of revising the curriculum based on evidence, we decided to conduct a study with the aim of designing, implementing and evaluating the infection control program among undergraduate nursing students using a mixed study.…”