A Descriptive Study to Assess the Knowledge on Infection Control among Staff Nurses in I.C.U in Selected Hospitals in Chennai

?A descriptive study to assess the knowledge on infection control among staff nurses in I. C. U in selected Hospitals in Chennai?. Prof. V. Hemavathy Principal, Dept of Mental Health Nursing Sree Balaji College of Nursing, Bharath University Tamil Nadu, India Girija Bhaskaran Professor, HOD Dept of Medical and Surgical Nursing Sree Balaji College of Nursing, Bharath University Tamil Nadu, India Y. Sudha M. Sc. Nursing, Dept of Medical and Surgical Nursing Sree Balaji College of Nursing, Bharath University Tamil Nadu, India The aim and objective of the study was to knowledge on infection control among staff nurses in I. C. U in selected Hospitals Chennai, India. A descriptive study was adopted. A total of 30 nurses participated in the present study, randomly chosen from I. C. U. An observational checklist was used for data collection after getting their informed consent. Self-made scoring system was used to categorize the participants as whether they follow the correct practice, partially correct practice or the incorrect practice. Purposive sampling technique was adopted to select the sample of the study. The result of the study concluded that the frequency and percentage distribution of level practice on infection control among staff nurses reveals that 24 (80%) staff nurses were found following correct practices, 4 (13.3%) of staff nurses were found following partially correct practices, and 2 (6.7%) were following incorrect practices. The study reveals that some nurses were correctly practicing the various aspects of infection control but for some who were not found to be completely responsible for infection control in the hospital, their problems were sort out such as inadequate staff in the I. C. U, less supervision, increase workloads, etc. It is the responsibility of the nurse to care for the environment and public health particularly in relation to the infection control. The importance of training regarding infection control cannot be over emphasized, lack of proper and complete knowledge about infection control impacts practices of appropriate waste disposal among staff nurses in the hospital. Nurse, infection Control, infection control management, I. C. U, hospital. 1. INTRODUCTION Microbes are everywhere in the biosphere and their presence in variably affects the environment they are growing in. The effects of microbes on their habitats can he beneficial or harmful or in apparent with regards to human affairs. The beneficial effects of microbes drive from their metabolic activities in the environment, their associations with plants and animals and their use in food production and biotechnological processes. The primary harmful effect of microbes upon our existence and civilization is that they are an important cause of disease in animals and human beings, and they are agents of spoilage and decomposition of our foods, textiles and dwellings. A microbe, which is capable of causing infectious disease in human being, is called a pathogen. Four groups of microbes contain pathogens Bacteria, Fungai, Protozoa and Viruses. Pathogens are the cause of infectious disease (Madison, 2006). Infection is the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganism that invades the issue and overcome the patient's resistance and multiplies. In healthcare settings the patients Ay be infected by their own organism called as endogenous infection or may be by organism from other people called as exogenous infection. Cross infection organism are Went and are resistant to several antibiotics especially in health care facilities like surgical wards, intensive care units (Ananthanarayan, 2002). Nosocomial infections are defined as an infection acquired during or as a result of hospitalizations. The patients neither have these infections not are incubating these infection on admission. Generally a patient who develops an infection after 48 hours of hospital admission is considered to have a nosocomial infection. Some nosocomial infection may not as disease immediately and can manifest event after discharge (Abraham, 2003). Infection is common but often avoidable complication of health care which has major the patient and the health care service. It has been estimated that up to one third of (Attired infection could be prevented by improved infection control practice. (Haley 1985) Infection occurs in hospitals and health post because patients who visit these facilities have often many different illness, while in the hospital or health post they may transmit there organisms through direct or indirect contact. Factors which make a person more likely to get infect are of certain ages (newborn's, elderly) underlying diseases (diabetes, malnourishment). Drug therapy (antibiotics, steroids) and invasive procedures (surgery and catheterization) (Ayllife, 1992). Two modes of contact transmission exist, direct and indirect contact transmission. Direct contact transmission consist of direct body surface to body surface con