Knowledge of nurses toward infection control measures at Al-Hillah Teaching Hospitals

Abstract

Infection is a significant issue in operating rooms. Many studies have shown that nurses are severely exposed to various risks, including needlestick and sharps injuries, which occur at a high rate in the operating room due to inexperience, cross-infection, and labour overload. Nurses need additional care to ensure efficient adherence to universal precautions. The study was conducted to assess nurses' knowledge of infection control measures and determine the relationship with their demographic characteristics. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among (200) nurses in operating rooms at AL-Hilla teaching hospitals, divided as follows: 107 from AL-Hilla teaching hospital, 104 from AL-Imam AL-Sadiq teaching hospital, and 41 from Babil Educational Hospital for obstetric and pediatrics hospital, the study was conducted during 15 th October 2021to 15 to May 2022. Samples were selected through (a purposive) nonprobability sampling approach. Data were collected during the use of a questionnaire and self-report technique. A questionnaire comprises two parts: the first part includes demographical characteristics. other section includes knowledge of nurses of infection control measures(ICM), composed of 45 items; questionnaire reliability was determined through a pilot study and then submitted to an expert committee composed of 30 experts.