Practice of and associated factors regarding prevention of surgical site infection among nurses working in the surgical units of public hospitals in Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections are one of the commonest types of healthcare-associated infections. Up to 60% of these infections are estimated to be preventable by using evidence-based guidelines. As a front line caregiver, nurses are responsible for the majority of preventive activities. Hence, the enhanced practical skill of nurses is an essential component in preventive actions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the practice of nurses and identify factors associated with it regarding prevention of surgical site infections in Addis Ababa city public hospitals. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was carried out from March 01–30, 2018. An adapted and pretested, self-administered questionnaire was utilized as a data collection tool. A stratified random sampling technique was employed by considering the level of hospitals as a stratum. Data were entered into a computer using Epi-data 3.1 statistical package. Then, it was exported to SPSS Version 23 for further analysis. Descriptive statistics were computed for the study variables. Bivariate regression analysis was also run to assess the association between independent variables and the level of nurse’s practice. To see the relative effect of independent variables on the nurse’s practice, a multivariable regression analysis was carried out. RESULT: A total of 409 nurses returned the questionnaire with a response rate of 98%. Majority (60.4%) of the participants were females and 84.1% were BSc holders. Less than half, (48.9%) of the participants were found to have good practice regarding prevention of surgical site infection. Being male, having more work experience, higher educational level and using available infection prevention guidelines were significantly associated with practice at p <0.05. CONCLUSION: More than half of the participants have inadequate practice regarding prevention of surgical site infection. Training nurses, making surgical site infection prevention guidelines easily accessible and ensuring possessed knowledge by nurses is potent enough and can be translated into desirable actions are recommended.