Nursing Students' Perceptions on Healthcare-Associated Infection Control and Prevention Teaching and Learning Experience in Portugal.

Pedro Parreira,Liliana B Sousa,Paulo Santos-Costa,Leena Koponen,João Pardal,Grażyna Bączyk,Beatriz Serambeque,Mikko Myllymäki,Anna Basa,Rafael A Bernardes,Teresa Neves,Raquel Guzmán Ordaz,Aleksandra Jankowiak-Bernaciak,João Graveto,Alexander L Ward Mayens,Amelia Patrzała,Maria Do Rosário Pinto,Ana Luísa Torres,Anabela Salgueiro-Oliveira,José Antonio Mirón Canelo,Ulla Korhonen,Amaia Yurrebaso ,Joaquim Simões ,José Luis Pérez Iglesias ,Alcinda Reis ,Marja Silén‐Lipponen ,Eva María Picado Valverde ,Juan A Juanes

doi:10.3390/jpm12020180

Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are one of the major concerns worldwide, posing significant challenges to healthcare professionals’ education and training. This study intended to measure nursing students’ perceptions regarding their learning experiences on HAI prevention and control. In the first phase of the study, a cross-sectional and descriptive study with a convenience sample composed of undergraduate nursing students from Portugal, Spain, Poland, and Finland was conducted to develop the InovSafeCare questionnaire. In the second phase, we applied the InovSafeCare scale in a sample of nursing students from two Portuguese higher education institutions to explore which factors impact nursing students’ adherence to HAI prevention and control measures in clinical settings. In phase one, the InovSafeCare questionnaire was applied to 1326 students internationally, with the instrument presenting adequate psychometric qualities with reliability results in 14 dimensions. During phase two, the findings supported that Portuguese nursing students’ adherence to HAI prevention and control measures is influenced not only by the curricular offerings and resources available in academic settings, but also by the standards conveyed by nursing tutors during clinical placements. Our findings support the need for a dedicated curricular focus on HAI prevention and control learning, not only through specific classroom modules, innovative resources, and pedagogical approaches, but also through a complementary and coordinated liaison between teachers and tutors in academic and clinical settings.

Highlights

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) is the contemporary term used to refer to infections that occur as the result of healthcare interventions [1] and were not present or incubating at the time of care delivery but could be established 48 h or more after
The psychometric qualities of the questionnaire supported the item pool related to the educational environment, healthcare setting environment, attitudes, beliefs, and performance of the nursing students regarding
The results show that all model trajectories are statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05), such as the Higher Education Institution HAI Theoretical Content “HETheory”, Higher

Summary

Introduction

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) is the contemporary term used to refer to infections that occur as the result of healthcare interventions [1] and were not present or incubating at the time of care delivery but could be established 48 h or more after. HAI represent one of the most frequent and serious complications in healthcare settings, from primary care to hospitals [2,3]. HAI are one of the biggest challenges for healthcare professionals and managers, directly influencing patients’ morbidity and mortality rates, delaying discharges, and increasing care costs with proper diagnosis and treatment [4]. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control estimates that up to 4.6 million people acquire a HAI each year in acute care settings, which represents the most deadly and costly adverse event in public hospitals across Europe [9]

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