Abstract

Background: patients on hemodialysis are at risk of nosocomial infections especially Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). Nurses’ adherence to infection control procedures is instrumental to control the transmission of the virus among patients. The identification of gaps in knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of nurses aims at tailoring related training programs. Aim: the study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses working in dialysis units regarding standard recommendations of infection control. Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2014 and January 2015 targeting all nurses in three dialyses units affiliated to the Ministry of Health in Abha city. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire to assess nurses’ KAP and an observation checklist to report on the environmental aspects. Results: one hundred and nine nurses were included with a response rate of 94.78%. Most of them were Saudi nationals (62.39%) and holding a diploma (78.90%). The percentage score was 60.18+17.51 for knowledge, 85.59+8.09 for attitudes and 92.11+7.98 for practice. Nurses’ practice was high despite the deficiency in knowledge. Gaps in practice were identified including not always adherent to hand washing (15% to 18%), use of eyewear when blood splash is likely (31.19%), simultaneous care for positive and negative patients (24.77%), passing needles from hand to hand (29.36%) and recapping needles after use (25.69%). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that attitudes towards infection control, attempt to access infection control guidelines, on job training and being non-Saudi independently predicted higher practice scores. Conclusion: nurses’ knowledge is deficient but their performance is significantly related to their attitudes. Nurses tend to be adherent to certain infection control practices than the others. Training in infection control should address the gaps in performance with emphasize on creating favorable attitude

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