Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Healthcare Providers Regarding Infection Control at Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: Nosocomial infections are the major cause of high morbidity and mortality in developing countries like Pakistan. Standard precautions; based on good self-care practices, adequate knowledge and positive attitude can decrease the consequences of nosocomial infections. Objective: The objective of the study is to know about the knowledge, attitudes and practices of health care providers regarding infection control in Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar. Method: This was descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar. In the health care providers we included doctors, nurses, pathologists and paramedics. Convenient sampling technique was used. After taking informed consent, the adopted questionnaires were filled from participants regarding knowledge, attitudes and practices about infection control. Results: Out of total 88 health-care workers, 44.3 % were male and 55.7% were females. On average, 83% of the participants are knowledgeable about the mode of transmission of infectious diseases while 96.6% of the participants responded that transmission based precautions help in infection control however, 98.9% of the respondents say PPE and following of standard precautions play a vital role in infection control. On average, 56% of health care workers say that there is a lack of PPE and 92% of HCWs wash their hands before and after the procedure. The overall use of PPE was 80.7 % however 75 % of the HCWs did the practice of recapping the needles after using. Conclusion: The overall knowledge, attitude and practices of the responding health care providers were good. Keywords: Knowledge; Attitude; Practices; Nosocomial infection