Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards standard precautions among nurses in Southern Tunisia

Introduction. Standard precautions (SP) are the pillar of hospital-associated infections prevention. Nurses as caregivers must be aware and apply those precautions in order to do their work in complete safety.

The purpose of the study. To determine the prevalence and the determinants of good knowledge, positive attitudes and good practices towards SP among nurses in Southern Tunisia.

Materials and methods. This was a cross-sectional study using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire, including a representative sample of nurses working at Hedi Chaker and Habib Bourguiba University Hospitals in Southern Tunisia, from March, 1^st to April, 30^th, 2022.

Results. The scores’ mean values of SP knowledge, attitudes and practices among nurses were 62.5 ± 13.5, 59.6 ± 12.6 and 61.1 ± 13.9 out of 100, respectively. We noted that 55 nurses (42.3%) had good knowledge, 56 participants (43.1%) had positive attitudes and 62 subjects (47.7%) had good practices towards SP. Multivariate analysis showed that good knowledge was independently associated with age > 30 years (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.2; p = 0.009) and continuous training about SP (AOR = 3.1; p = 0.012).

Positive attitudes were independently associated with the presence of initial academic training about SP (AOR = 3.02; p = 0.013) and continuous training about SP (AOR = 6.6; p < 0.001), age > 30 years (AOR = 0.3; p = 0.034) and the presence of chronic diseases (AOR = 2.8; p = 0.027).

Good practices were independently associated with positive attitudes (AOR = 3.42; p < 0.001), however they were not associated with good knowledge.

Research limitations. It included the cross-sectional design, through which it was possible to assess only the association between facts, but not to confirm causal relationships and temporality.

Conclusions. A relatively low rates of good knowledge, positive attitudes and good practices regarding SP were observed among nurses in Southern Tunisia. Tunisian policymakers in the health sectors should plan continuous training sessions about SP in order to promote health security in our country.

Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require submission of the opinion of the biomedical ethics committee or other documents.

Contribution of the authors:
Mouna Baklouti, Yosra Mejdoub — wrote the article and/or revised the article for important intellectual content;
Mouna Baklouti, Yosra Mejdoub, Salma Maalej, Maissa Ben Jmaa, Salma Smaoui, Mariem Belmabrouk, Nouha Ketata, Jihen Jdidi, Férièle Messadi-Akrout, Sourour Yaich — read and approved the final version of the submitted manuscript.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: August 3, 2023 / Accepted: December 20, 2023 / Published: August 29, 2024