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Knowledge, Practice, and Attitude Among Iranian Nurses, Midwives, and Students Regarding Standard Isolation Precautions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Mehrdad Askarian*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Ziad A. Memish
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine and the Department of Infection Prevention and Control, National Guard Health Affairs, Saudi Arabia
Ashraf A. Khan
Affiliation:
Infection Control and Epidemiology, Long Island College Hospital, New York Cedar Grove Management, Cedar Grove, New Jersey
*
Department of Community Medicine, Shiraz Medical School, P.O. BOX: 71345-1737, Shiraz, Iran ([email protected])

Abstract

Our goal was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding infection control and standard precautions among a group of nursing and midwifery instructors and students in Iran. A survey questionnaire was completed by 273 nursing and midwifery instructors and students at Shiraz University Medical Sciences during the period from May to November 2002. Two hundred thirty-one (90.9%) of the participants reported that they needed additional infection control education, especially on standard isolation precautions. There was a linear positive correlation between knowledge, practice, and attitude scores for the group of nursing, auxiliary nursing, and midwifery instructors, as well as their students (P < .05). Our study shows that there is an urgent need for evaluating education on infection control practices and standard precautions in general, as well as for structured infection control programs among nursing and midwifery staff.

Type
Concise Communication
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2007

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