Infection Control Practices Among Nurses Working At Tertiary Care Hospitals of Quetta, Pakistan

Objective: To assess the infection control practice among registered nurses working at tertiary care Sandeman provincial Civil Hospital & Bolan Medical Complex Hospital Quetta. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in all departments of the Tertiary Care Sandeman Provincial Civil Hospital and Bolan Medical Complex Hospital in Quetta. All nursing professionals working at the tertiary care hospital in Quetta, where they were in direct contact with the patient admitted to the hospital for treatment, were included. All subjects were interviewed regarding their demographic characteristics and infection control practices. A questioner based proforma was used for the data collection, and SPSS version 26 was used for the purpose of analysis. Results: A total of 138 nursing individuals were studied regarding infection control practice; their mean was 34.60+7.99 years and their work experience average was 13.45+8.21 years. Out of all, (99.3%) participants were using gloves, (97.8%) using masks, (84.8%) using plastic apron/ Gowns. (91.3%) discard gloves after single use and use fresh instruments for every patient; (89.1%) discard equipment and instruments. As an infection control measure, 66.7% of nurses agreed that nurses suffering from the common cold should be excused from work. As per the perceptions of nurses regarding infection control practice, the nurses should wear gloves and masks for all procedures; the key to infection prevention is hand hygiene; gloves should be used in cleaning extensive wounds and dressing forceps; and a lack of knowledge on the hazards of microorganisms is a major constraint in the prevention and control of infection. 66.7% said that nurses having common colds must be relieved of their duty, and 76.8% of nurses said the attitude, belief, and culture of our population have a positive influence on the spread of infection. Infection control practises were statistically insignificant according to age and work experience (p > 0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that; there was the good infection control practices and positive perceptions among registered nurses working at tertiary care Sandeman provincial Civil Hospital & Bolan Medical Complex Hospital Quetta.