Knowledge, attitudes and practice of healthcare professionals towards the prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in a local rehabilitation hospital

Abstract

Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) are among the most common healthcare-associated infections globally. Most CAUTI are preventable and it is the responsibility of healthcare professionals (HCP) to adhere to the respective guidelines to ensure that the development of CAUTI is minimal. Previous studies assessed HCP knowledge, attitudes and practice (K-A-P) towards CAUTI prevention. However, no local studies investigated the K-A-P of HCP towards CAUTI prevention. Aim: To assess the K-A-P of HCP towards preventing CAUTI in a local rehabilitation hospital. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was employed. A self-administered online questionnaire was disseminated to doctors and nurses (Balu et al., 2021) and a newly developed questionnaire was disseminated to nursing assistants in a local rehabilitation hospital at one point in time. Methods: All HCP (doctors, nurses and nursing assistants, n=315) working at a local rehabilitation hospital during the study were invited to participate. A total of 215 participants completed the questionnaires, yielding a satisfactory response rate of 68.3%. Results: This study's findings are comparable to those published in the literature. The K-A-P of HCP towards CAUTI prevention were generally moderate to adequate levels. The study identified various significant associations between the three questionnaire subscales (K-A-P) and various participants’ demographic variables. A positive correlation was found between doctors’ and nurses’ knowledge and practice (p = 0.002) towards preventing CAUTI. Nursing assistants K-A-P towards CAUTI prevention were positively correlated (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study concludes that knowledge-practice gaps exist among HCP locally and that there is room for improvement. This study highlights that HCP attitudes and practice are directly influenced by their level of knowledge towards preventing CAUTI. Hence, educating and training HCP about CAUTI prevention measures is crucial.