Awareness and Practices of Standard Precautions for Infection Control among Nurses in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Nursing personnel are at a greater risk of acquiring and transmitting blood-borne pathogens. Knowledge about standard precautions and practicing them is very critical in preventing blood borne transmitted infections. This cross sectional hospital-based study sought to assess the level of knowledge and practices regarding standard precautions for infection control amongst nurses and to determine their source of information. In a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, 293 nurses were administered a semi structured questionnaire in December 2011. Questions were asked on knowledge and practices about standard precautions, transmission of blood-borne pathogens, use of gloves, hand washing. Data was entered and analysed in SPSS version 12. The study revealed that the nurses had poor knowledge about standard precautions (97.9%). 189 (64.5%) nurses had inadequate knowledge about the transmission of blood-borne pathogens; more than three-fourth (77.5%) were aware about hepatitis-B vaccine; majority (72.7%) practiced washing soiled hands immediately; and more than half (58.7%) used Gowns and Gloves very often. Refresher training (34.5%) was the major source of information. This study has highlighted major gaps between the knowledge and practices of nurses regarding standard precautions.