Exploring the Level of Knowledge and Attitude Towards Evidence-Based Prevention Recommendations of Surgical Site Infections Among Surgical Nurses in Saudi Arabian Hospitals: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) are one of the most preventable hospital-acquired infections (HAI). However, surgical site infection rates have not decreased significantly around the world. One of the ways to prevent SSIs is the utilisation of evidence-based surgical site infection prevention guidelines and recommendations. Many studies investigated the level of knowledge and attitude towards prevention guidelines among healthcare providers; but there is a lack of studies that investigated the level of knowledge and attitude towards SSI prevention recommendations, especially among surgical nurses. In Saudi Arabia, the area of investigating surgical nurses’ knowledge levels and attitude towards SSI prevention recommendations is also limited. By addressing this gap, this study was sought to be conducted.

Purpose of the study: To explore surgical nurses’ level of knowledge and attitude towards SSI prevention recommendations in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was used in two Saudi hospitals with a convenience sampling technique. A valid and reliable questionnaire was utilised and distributed to 119 surgical nurses in both participated hospitals through an online link. A descriptive and inferential statistical test were applied for the analysis of the retrieved data. The analysis was run by Statistical Package for Social Science programme.

Results: 83 participants completed the online questionnaire yielding a response rate of (70%). The overall level of knowledge about SSI prevention recommendations was high with a mean value of (4.14 out of 5), with an overall positive attitude towards the recommended preventive practices (mean= 7.42 out of 10). There was a statistically significant association identified between the years of experience, educational levels, and gender with the increase of the level of knowledge (0.002, 0.001, 0.045 respectively), whereas there was an association only between the years of experience and educational levels with positive attitudes (p= 0.001 and 0.034 respectively).

Conclusion: current research findings show that there is a high level of knowledge and positive attitude from the Saudi surgical nurses towards the evidence-based surgical site infection prevention recommendations, yet there are some areas that need to be improved. Recommendations were also highlighted in this study, provide more training for surgical nurses, in order to continuously improve knowledge levels and have more positive attitudes.