Knowledge, practice and attitude towards standard isolation precautions in nurses, auxiliary nurses and midwives of Shahid Sadoughi hospital Yazd, Iran

Abstract

the objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge, practice and attitude of nurses, auxiliary nurses and midwifery staff towards standard isolation precautions. In a cross-sectional survey 200 nurses, auxiliary nurses and midwifery staff were recruited to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge, attitude and practice towards standard isolation precautions in a teaching hospital in Yazd, Iran. the data were collected and analyzed using SPSS 14. the initial sample consisted of 230 participants, of whom 200 (87%) responded to the distributed questionnaires. Knowledge and attitudes were moderate but their practice was relatively poor. Mean score of knowledge, attitude and practice towards standard isolation precautions were 11.9 (Maximum = 16.5), 27 (Maximum = 50), 4.6 (Maximum = 9), respectively. Practice scores of women were significantly higher than men (P = 0.028). The score of Knowledge increased significantly with age (P = 0.004). A positive linear correlation was observed between knowledge and practice (P =0.01, correlation coefficient = 0.173). this study revealed that there were serious defects in knowledge of health care workers regarding hand hygiene, disinfecting endoscopes, avoiding recapping needles and respiratory isolation precautions.