Knowledge and Attitude of Anesthesia Technologist About Infection Control Practices in OR

Abstract

Background: Infection prevention is essential in operating rooms because anesthesia personnel frequently handle airway devices, anesthesia equipment, medications, invasive devices, and high-touch surfaces that may facilitate cross-contamination. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported infection-control practices of anesthesia technologists working in selected hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study included 57 practicing anesthesia technologists recruited through purposive sampling from three hospitals. Data were collected using a structured electronic questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices. Categorical data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.0 and presented as frequencies and percentages. Results: Understanding of infection control was reported by 98.2% of participants, awareness of surgical-site infection guidelines by 96.5%, and knowledge of proper hand hygiene by 89.5%. Although 98.2% considered infection-control practices important, only 49.1% agreed that hand hygiene reduces cross-contamination, while 47.4% disagreed. Equipment cleaning after each procedure was reported by 91.2%, sterile technique by 89.5%, and proper medical-waste disposal by 89.5%. Reporting infection-control breaches was the least favourably endorsed practice at 70.2%. Conclusion: Participants reported strong awareness of several infection-control principles, but important gaps remained in understanding hand hygiene and reporting breaches. Targeted training and direct clinical auditing are needed