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Nursing Intervention For The Promotion Of Infection Control In Two Teaching Hospitals
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Standard precautions are infection control measures that are put forward
by the United States Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (CDC),
in 1996. By complying with standard precautions, a lot of infections
can be avoided, such as occupational exposure to pathogens. While some
health workers are familiar with the infection control measures, some
are not. This may be due to lack of awareness or knowledge and moreover,
the attitude that some who are familiar with the infection control
measures, show towards practice is not encouraging. When one considers
the importance of adequate knowledge and practice of infection control
measures, by the healthcare workers, one cannot but think of what to do
to improve on that knowledge and practice. Jain, Dogra, Mishra, Thakur
and Loomba (2012), in their study among doctors and nurses in a tertiary
care hospital, found that there is lack of knowledge and practice
regarding basic infection control measures. This deficit in knowledge
can be improved through educational intervention. Wasswa, Nalwadda,
Buregyoya, Gitta, Anguzu and Nuwama (2015), in their study on
implementation of infection control in health facilities in Uganda,
found that with prior training on infection control, the respondents
were more likely to wash their hands. Level of education and a prior
nosocomial infection experience will have a role in the practice of
infection control measures. In-service training on infection control
measures will boost the practice of infection control measures.
Amoran
and Onwube (2013) found that inadequate workers’ knowledge on infection
control and environment related problems are crucial issues that need
urgent attention. According to Gebresilassie, Kumei, and Yemane (2014)
in their study, “there is suboptimal and inconsistent practice of
standard precautions in the healthcare setting that put patients and
healthcare workers at significant risk of acquiring infectionsâ€. They
also emphasized the need for in-service training for the healthcare
workers on infection control. Adly, Amin and Abd El-aziz, (2014) found
that intervention influenced the compliance of nurses with infection
control measures, because of the knowledge gained during the
intervention or training programme. There is a standard of infection
control measures that can guarantee infection safety among health
workers and patients.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Healthcare
workers generally are at risk of infection. WHO (2006), reported that
among the 35million health workers worldwide, about 3 million sustain
percutaneous exposures to the blood borne pathogens each year, including
2 million to Hepatitis B virus (HBV), 0.9 million to Hepatitis C virus
(HCV) and 170,000 to Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These injuries
may result in 70,000 HBV; 15,000 HCV and 5,000 HIV infections. Nurses
are at higher risk of being infected with blood-borne pathogens from
clinical blood exposure through injuries with sharp instruments and
needle-stick injuries if infection control measures are not strictly
followed. This is because they are usually the first contact with a
patient on arrival in the hospital and provide 24 hour patient care.
Studies have also shown evidence of clinical nurses becoming infected
due to occupational exposure (Centers for Disease Control &
Prevention, 2012). Abdulraheem, Amodu, Saka, Bolarinwa & Uthman
(2012), in their study, among health workers in North Eastern Nigerian
found that the level of knowledge and implementation of standard
precautions is below standard to guarantee infection safety. They
concluded that there is still much to learn and implement when it comes
to infection control measures.
Furthermore, in some health
institutions, the researcher observed that some nurses do not adhere to
the components of standard precautions while providing nursing care. For
example, few nurses were observed not to wash their hand after removing
gloves and before commencing another procedure. In some of the wash
hand basins in the outpatient department, liquid soap is not available
for health workers and patients to wash their hands. When blood or body
fluids are spilled on the floor, the house keepers do not decontaminate
with hypochlorite solution before mopping with soap and water. The
health institutions infection control units are not well equipped to
function effectively to ensure compliance to standard precautions. It is
in the light of the gaps that the researcher became interested in
planning a training programme on knowledge, perception, attitude and
practice of infection control for nurses at Babcock University Teaching
Hospital (BUTH), Ilisan-Remo, Ogun state.
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