Knowledge and Proper Practice of Infection Control Methods among Healthcare Workers at a Military Hospital

Abstract

Inadequate knowledge and practice of infection control methods contributes towards a major proportion of hospital-acquired infections. The objective of the present study was to assess the knowledge and practice of infection control methods among the health care workers at Army Hospital, Narahenpita. This descriptive cross sectional study took place at Army Hospital, Narahenpita. The study population included all health care workers in all clinical departments/ laboratories and included all the senior house officers, house officers and nurses. A total of 180 health care workers participated in the study. Simple random sampling was used to select respondents according to period of service and job designation. Data was collected using a self-administered, pre tested and validated questionnaire. Knowledge on infection prevention methods was assessed through 20-targeted questions. The remaining 20 were allocated to assessment of practice. The questionnaire was divided into 4 sections, assessing hand hygiene, glove usage, garbage disposal, and cleaning of infected materials. The knowledge and practice on these areas was evaluated. Participants performed better in questions based on practice rather than knowledge. Respondents had significant lack of knowledge in usage of gloves. The knowledge and practice with regard to proper disposal of garbage was satisfactory with 90 scoring adequately. A sizable relationship was found between lack of knowledge and practice. (p<0.05). There was a significant proportion of healthcare workers who performed poorly in both knowledge and practice. Further educational programmes on infection control will be necessary to improve the knowledge and practices of the health care workers at the Army Hospital, Narahenpita.