KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF INFECTION CONTROL AMONG MIDWIVES

ABSTRACT: The aim of the study is to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of nurses regarding infection prevention and control within a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. A descriptive, research design with a quantitative approach was applied to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses regarding infection prevention and control within a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. The population for the study was nurses working in clinical environment at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. 312 nurses were the total population of nurses at this tertiary hospital of which n= 140 (70%) were registered nurses, n= 80 (56%) enrolled nurses, n= 47 (33%) registered midwives, n= 23 (16%) enrolled midwives, n= 10 (7%) certified midwives and n= 12 (8%) registered mental health nurses. According to table 3.1, n= 31 nurses participated in the pilot study (10% of N= 312) while n= 196 nurses participated in the main study (70% of N= 281). The sampling method that was utilized in this study was stratified simple random sampling. This method of sampling enabled the study population to have an equal and independent chance of appearing in the study sample. The current study revealed that 76.4% (table 4.13) of nurses did not receive appropriate vaccination regarding infection prevention and control. Furthermore, 61% (table 4.13) of the nurses indicated that personal protective equipment is not always accessible. Therefore, both patients and nurses are exposed to hospital acquired infections.