Abstract:
Background: The burden of nosocomial infections all over the world is still causing problems
including high morbidity resulting in many cases of death. As nosocomial infections are
preventable through the use of appropriate preventive strategies, up to date knowledge and skills
of nurses in ICU is highly needed because it is very important for the prevention of nosocomial
infections as the nurses spend most of their working hours with critically ill patients.
Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge and practice of preventive
measures of nosocomial infections among nurses working in ICU in referral hospitals
Materials and methods: A non-experimental quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted
among nurses working in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of referral hospitals at Kigali University
Teaching Hospital (CHUK) and Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH), to identify knowledge and
practice of nurses on preventive measures of nosocomial infections. A non-probability
convenience sampling method was used, and a sample of 51 nurses working in ICU in both
referral hospitals was used in the study. A self-administered questionnaire with closed-ended
questions was used to assess knowledge and observational checklist was used to assess the
practice.
Results:
The study found that 22 (43.1%) of nurses working in ICU have adequate knowledge, 24
(47.1%) and 5 (9.8%) have poor knowledge towards prevention of nosocomial infections. Most
of nurses working in ICU 31 (60.78%) have good practice and 20 (39.22%) have poor practice
towards the preventive measures of nosocomial infections. Nearly three quarter (74.5%) did not
wash hands before entering ICU. The Fisher‟s Exact test and the Chi-squared test revealed an
association between level of nursing education and knowledge (p=0.049, Fisher exact test) as
well as practice (X2= 5.031, df=1, p=0.025).
Conclusion: The knowledge and practice of nurses working in ICU towards the prevention of
nosocomial infections need to be improved through refresher workshop and trainings to recall
and reinforce acquired knowledge and skills of nursing care procedures in intensive care unit
