Infection Prevention and Control in the Emergency Department Unit in King Khalid Hospital, Hail City, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Context: The emergency department presents unique challenges to infection control and prevention. Infection control (IC) activities include the identification of infectious disease processes, surveillance, and epidemiologic investigation, preventing/controlling the transmission of infectious agents/healthcare-associated infections, employee/occupational health, management and communication, education and research, managing the environment of care, and cleaning, sterilization, disinfection, and asepsis. Aim: Assess infection prevention and control practices in the emergency department in King Khalid Hospital, Hail City, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive correlational study design was used to conduct the study in the emergency department (ED) unit at King Khalid Hospital (KKH), Hail City, Saudi Arabia. All available nurses working in the emergency department KKH at the time of data collection. A self-administered structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data in the current study. Results: 71.7% (n=76) of the participants were between 25 and 35 years old, 24.5% (n=26) were between 36-45 years old, and only 3.8% (n=4) were over 45 years old. 79.2% of the nurses reported that there is a curriculum or program for IC training for doctors and nurses, 71.7% mentioned that they have recommendations for IC training link doctors and nurses, 84.8% reported that IC issues are parts of the examination and evaluation in basic training for nurses, and there are policies and procedures elaborating infection control interventions. Besides, 82.1% of the nurses reported infection control policies and guidelines in their units, and 83% and 82.7% stated that there is a list of reportable infectious agents available in their unit and accessible to all staff, and there is an active infection control team, respectively. Conclusion: Overall, this study indicated that nurses reported a high level of infection prevention and control practices in the ED of King Khalid Hospital. There was no statistically significant association between nurses' knowledge of infection prevention and control practices and their demographic characteristics. Implementing regular training and educational programs for nurses, focusing on updating knowledge and skills in IPC practices, was recommended.