Level of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Nurses Regarding Nosocomial Infection at Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital (SGTH), Swat
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Background: Healthcare-associated infections increase morbidity, mortality, length of hospitalization, and healthcare expenditure. Nurses have a central role in interrupting their transmission through appropriate infection-prevention practices. Objective: To determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices of nurses regarding nosocomial infections at Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital, Swat, Pakistan. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted from August to November 2024. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling, and data were collected using a self-administered 33-item knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire scored on a seven-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were calculated using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0. Results: Of 206 collected questionnaires, 197 were eligible for analysis, giving a valid response proportion of 95.6%. The mean raw knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 63.71 ± 10.90 of 77 (82.7%), 42.69 ± 7.33 of 56 (76.2%), and 77.44 ± 11.82 of 98 (79.0%), respectively. Awareness of handwashing guidelines was reported by 178 nurses (90.4%), while 180 (91.4%) agreed that they understood safe equipment disposal and fomite transmission. Most participants recognized serious patient outcomes (90.4%) and reported hand hygiene when handling body-fluid samples (92.4%) and urinary catheters (91.9%). However, 145 (73.6%) considered hand cleaning after every contact unrealistic, 154 (78.2%) reported reduced compliance during increased workload or emergencies, and 83 (42.1%) acknowledged occasionally using nail polish or artificial nails. Conclusion: Nurses demonstrated high overall raw knowledge, attitude, and practice scores, but specific behavioural and workload-related gaps remained. Infection-prevention programs should therefore emphasize consistent application of hand hygiene and standard precautions under routine and high-workload conditions
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