“KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS REGARDING INFECTION CONTROL AMONGNST LABORATORY AND NURSING STAFF OF AL- QUWAYIYAH GENERAL HOSPITAL, RIYADH”

Jafar Ebrahim* Maghram Al-Amri

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Hospital-acquired infection (HAI) is one of the common problems and difficulties faced by hospitals in all countries around the world. Since nurses and Laboratory staffs are part of the healthcare team that plays a unique role in the control of hospital infection, this study is conducted to analyze the knowledge and awareness regarding infection control amongst Laboratory and Nursing staff of the Hospital. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Al-Quwayiyah general Hospital, Riyadh from August 2015 to October 2016 among 160 staffs. A cross-sectional survey was carried out to identify the level of awareness about HAI among the Laboratory and Nursing staff through questionnaires. The tools were prepared based on the hospital-acquired infection guidelines provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC). Results: The responses on knowledge and awareness of nursing and laboratory staff on HAI shows that both laboratory (75%) and nursing staff (85%) have good knowledge. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that nurses in this study have good knowledge regarding HAI. However, in spite of having knowledge about HAI, their overall knowledge didn’t reach the good level. It is suggested to providing training programs for newly joined health workers about infection control at regular intervals.

Keywords: Laboratory and Nursing staff, knowledge, awareness, infection control.