Health professionals’ knowledge about relative prevalence of hospital-acquired infections in Delta State of Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) constitute a serious global public health challenge, causing great suffering to many people across the globe at any given time. This study ascertains the knowledge of health professionals on the challenge and their compliance with infection control measures. METHODS: Validated questionnaires were administered to 660 health professionals and supported with face-to-face interview. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 (SPSS Inc, USA). Chi-square was used to test association between the independent and the outcome variables. Cut-off point for statistical significance was 5% (p value<0.05). RESULTS: UTIs (61.4%) followed by Hospital-acquired Pneumonia (55.6%) were known to be the most prevalent HAIs in government hospitals while Staphylococcus aureus (54.4%) was reported the most microbial agent. In private health facilities, Hospital-acquired Pneumonia was known to be the most common (66.1%) while Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most reported culprit. HAIs were reported to have occurred more in government hospitals and catheterization was the commonest modes of transmission in both health facilities. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of HAIs in this state was reported to be high. Although health-care professionals have good knowledge of HAIs, active effort is not always made to identify and resolve them. Standardized surveillance of HAIs is urgently needed.