KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND PRACTICES REGARDING THE PREVENTION OF INFECTIONS AMONG NURSING STUDENTS IN THE INTERNSHIP YEAR AT UNIVERSITY OF TABUK
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background
The consequences of nursing students' disregard for infection control protocols affect patients as well as the students themselves. The true level of infection control compliance and understanding among nursing students is not well understood. This study's primary goal was to characterize nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices around infection prevention and control measures in an environment with limited resources. Method: In 2024, a cross-sectional study was conducted by using a self-administered quiz about infection prevention and control guidelines for 160 University of Tabuk internship year students enrolling in a standard undergraduate nursing program. Cronbach’s range of 0.65 to 0.94 indicates the validity and reliability of the study questionnaire (content validity index: 0.81). Findings: Of the 160 students in the final cohort, 58.8% were male, and 75.6% of participants were 21 years of age or older. When compared to students who reported having problems with inadequate information, the majority of students (86.9%) had better mean scores (M = 14.7, SD = 2.4) with good knowledge. (M = 7.2, SD = 1.7, P =.001*). Students who reported having problems with bad practice had a lower mean score (M = 36.7, SD = 8.2, P =.001*) than those who scored well, which accounted for the largest percentage of students (60.6%). most participating students (64.4%) had a positive attitude (M = 26.9, SD = 5.5, P =.001*). In light of the study's findings, it is advised that more rigorous kinds of evaluations that concentrate on infection prevention and control be used throughout clinical training, in addition to interactive courses on infection control that encourage critical thinking to be established at the undergraduate level.