title: Awareness and practices of standard precautions for infection control among nurses in a tertiary care hospital.
abstract: Nursing personnel are at a greater risk of acquiring and transmitting blood-borne pathogens. Knowledge about standard precautions and practicing them is very critical in preventing blood borne transmitted infections. This cross sectional hospital-based study sought to assess the level of knowledge and practices regarding standard precautions for infection control amongst nurses and to determine their source of information. In a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, 293 nurses were administered a semi structured questionnaire in December 2011. Questions were asked on knowledge and practices about standard precautions, transmission of blood-borne pathogens, use of gloves, hand washing. Data was entered and analysed in SPSS version 12. The study revealed that the nurses had poor knowledge about standard precautions (97.9%). 189 (64.5%) nurses had inadequate knowledge about the transmission of blood-borne pathogens; more than three-fourth (77.5%) were aware about hepatitis-B vaccine; majority (72.7%) practiced washing soiled hands immediately; and more than half (58.7%) used Gowns and Gloves very often. Refresher training (34.5%) was the major source of information. This study has highlighted major gaps between the knowledge and practices of nurses regarding standard precautions.
authors: Anita S
authors: AS
authors: Acharya
authors: Jyoti
authors: J
authors: Khandekar
authors: Amit
authors: A
authors: Sharma
authors: H R
authors: HR
authors: Tilak
authors: Asha
authors: A
authors: Kataria
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D011481:Protective Clothing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055815:Young Adult