Knowledge and practices of disinfection among Nurses in the Colombo South Teaching Hospital

Abstract

General objective: To assess the knowledge and practices of disinfection among nurses in the Colombo South Teaching Hospital.

Method: A descriptive cross sectional study was done using convenience sampling method among 90 nurses in the surgical and medical wards at Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. Data were collected using a Self-administered structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS).

Results: Overall level of knowledge of the participants was “satisfactory” (51.1%). 20% of the participants had “good” level of knowledge and 28.9% participants had “poor” level of knowledge. Majority of the participants had “satisfactory” (44%) level of practices. 19% of the participants had “good” level of practices and 27% participants had “poor” level of practices. There was significant (p < 0.05) association between the level of knowledge among participants who had prior training of disinfection and work experience. There was significant (p < 0.05) association between the level of practices among participants who had prior training of disinfection and work experience. There was no significant association between the work place, reading infection control manual or gender and knowledge and practices of disinfection.

Conclusion: There is a positive relationship between knowledge and practice which are directly proportional to each other. This indicates that with improved knowledge, we can also improve the practices, which should be of major concern in the present day health care scenario.