Knowledge and sources of information among healthcare students on nosocomial infections and control measures: A cross sectional study

Background: Healthcare students act as potential vectors for pathogenic agents and play a vital role in transmitting nosocomial infections. Therefore, assessing their knowledge on nosocomial infections and control measures will aid in preventing these infections. Objectives: This study aimed to assess knowledge on nosocomial infections and control measures among healthcare students in the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among purposively selected 253 healthcare students. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to assess knowledge about three main domains; nosocomial infections, standard precautions and hand hygiene. The sources of information for these 3 areas were also recorded. The final score ranged from 0-69 and were categorized into three levels; low, moderate and high. The significance level was set as p ≤ 0.05. Results: The mean overall score of the participants was 48.00 (SD±10.63). The majority (64%) had a high level of knowledge score. The nursing students showed the highest score (52.53, SD±7.94) than physiotherapy students (47.60, SD±10.85) and radiography students (43.16, SD±10.98). This difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The mean scores for the domains of nosocomial infections, standard precautions and hand hygiene were 30.77 (SD±8.29), 10.23 (SD±2.59) and 7.00 (SD±1.86) respectively. Participants identified formal teaching in classrooms as the main source of information for all three domains. Conclusion: The knowledge among healthcare students regarding nosocomial infections and control measures was found to be satisfactory and information was largely acquired through formal teaching in classrooms.