| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 護理學系 === 103 === Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are considered as being among the most serious patient safety issues in health care settings. Especially in the Emergency Department (ED), nurses face greater risk of exposure to infectious pathogens. ED nurses’ daily intervention often involve contact with patients’ blood and/or other body fluids. To protect ED nurses from infectious agents, standard precautions are essential and also effective in reducing the number of HAIs. However, knowledge, attitude, behavior towards HAIs and relationships between these three variables among nurses working in EDs in developing countries such as Indonesia, has not yet been studied. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the knowledge, attitude, behavior towards HAIs and their relationships, among nurses working in EDs in Indonesia. In addition, the influence of demographic characteristics on nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior were examined in this study.
A cross-sectional, self-reported survey was conducted and a total of 115 participants were recruited from four hospitals in Bandung City, Indonesia. The Healthcare Associated Infections Survey (HAIS) consisting of four domains: demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and behavior related to HAIs was used for the survey.
ED nurses’ overall performance on the knowledge portion was good, with a mean of 21.23±5.173 (range=9-30). They produced better scores on control measures and risk factors for HAIs, but did poorly on some questions about HAI source pathogens. 92.2% had positive attitudes and the mean score for behavior when practicing infection control was 37.7±5.570 (26-50). Marital status (Z = -2.838, p = 0.005) and working hours per week, influenced nurses’ knowledge of HAIs (rs = 0.185, p = 0.048). Work experience was found to have a negative relationship towards attitude (rs = -0.196, p = 0.035). While, type of hospital (F (113) = 5.560, p = 0.005) and working hours per week (r = 0.191, p = 0.04) influenced behavior. However, no significant relationship was found between knowledge, attitude and behavior towards HAIs.
Even though the majority of ED nurses in Indonesia believe that precautionary guidelines can reduce the risk of HAIs, in fact most nurses’ behavior was sub-optimal. Therefore, it is essential for healthcare institutions to conduct surveillance, monitor good behavior of infection control practices and provide continuous education for ED nurses. Furthermore, healthcare managers should consider nurses’ characteristics when developing an education plan.
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