Operating Room Nurses' Knowledge Performance and Attitudes regarding Respiratory Instrument Processing process in Hospital at Saudi Arabia, 2024

Abstract

Background: Nurses working in the operating room should receive training on preventing cross-infection and the transmission of nosocomial infections. They need to demonstrate knowledge and a positive attitude toward maintaining a sterile field at all times to minimize the spread of potential pathogens to other sites, wounds, or themselves. The fundamental elements of hospital infection control procedures are sterilization and disinfection. Numerous invasive operations are carried out daily in various medical facilities. A higher risk of nosocomial infection is linked to improper sterilization or disinfection of devices. By following infection prevention and control procedures, nurses play a crucial part in the reprocessing of breathing equipment. This study aimed: To assess operating room nurses' knowledge performance and attitudes regarding respiratory instrument processing process in hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was utilized in Hospital at Makkah, Saudi Arabia. We selected a convenience sample of 50 operating nurses who handle instrument processing. Data were collected between January and March, 2024 through four tools. The first tool: Nurses' socio demographic and occupational characteristics self-administrated questionnaire. The second tool: self-administrated questionnaire to assess the nurses' knowledge about instrument processing process (cleaning, disinfection, inspection, packing, sterilization, transport, storage, and use and infection control measure). The third tool: Rubric observational checklist of respiratory instrument processing performance. The fourth tool: Self-administered scale to assess attitude of nursing staff about the management of respiratory instrument processing. Results: According to the current study, 60% of the nurses under investigation have bad overall knowledge scores, and 66% execute improperly when it comes to processing respiratory instruments. Conclusion: According to the study's findings, the majority of the nurses under investigation performed poorly when it came to processing respiratory instruments, had a mean total positive attitude of 44.8 (5.1), and had poor overall knowledge scores. Create a protocol for nursing personnel about the processing of respiratory instruments in hospital.