Enhancing Hospital-Acquired Infection Prevention Practices: Strategies for Healthcare Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Settings: Insights from a Study on Healthcare Workers in Western Uganda
Tugineyo Immaculate
Faculty of Clinical Medicine and Dentistry Kampala International University Western Campus Uganda.
ABSTRACT
In low- and middle-income hospital settings, hospital-acquired infections can occur among patients or arise among hospital staff, posing a significant challenge. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to preventing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and the associated factors among healthcare workers at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in Kabarole district, western Uganda. Conducted between January and March 2011, this hospital-based cross-sectional study employed simple random sampling to select 236 participants, achieving a 100% response rate. Structured self-administered questionnaires were utilized for data collection. Descriptive analysis was employed to present the main findings, revealing that 90% of participants had good knowledge and 57.2% held positive attitudes towards HAI prevention. However, only 36% demonstrated good practices in this regard, indicating suboptimal scores. Significant associations were found between levels of education and work experience and attitudes and practices related to HAI prevention (P value <0.005). Despite respondents exhibiting good knowledge and positive attitudes towards HAI prevention, this did not consistently translate into appropriate practices. Further, education level and work experience emerged as independent risk factors influencing attitudes and practices concerning HAI prevention. To bridge this gap, continuous on-the-job and off-the-job training, coupled with stringent adherence to updated standard operating procedures, are recommended.
Keywords: Healthcare workers, HAI prevention, Hospital staff, Hospital settings, Work experience.
CITE AS: Tugineyo Immaculate (2024). Enhancing Hospital-Acquired Infection Prevention Practices: Strategies for Healthcare Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Settings: Insights from a Study on Healthcare Workers in Western Uganda. IDOSR JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES 10(3): 83-97.https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSR/JES/103.83.97