A Study to Assess the Knowledge Regarding CDC Guidelines on Prevention of Infection in Intensive Care Units among Staff Nurses Working in Selected Hospitals Bangalore

Critical care nurses are the health care professionals who have the obligation to protect critically ill patients against infection especially those who are immune compromised, in order to enhance their recovery, prevent deterioration in their health, and achieve high quality nursing care. The risk of acquiring HCAI is especially significant in the ICUs. A huge number of immune compromised patients are admitted to ICUs. Approximately 30 % of ICU patients are affected by one or more episodes of HCAI. Critical care patients are faced with increased risks of nosocomial infections, and so life-threatening conditions. Therefore, nurses have a professional and moral obligation to protect the health of their patients and share the responsibility to sustain and protect the natural environment. METHOD The research approach adopted for this study was quantitative research approach. Research design used for this study was Simple descriptive design. Non-probability Purposive sampling techniques was adopted to select 30 samples for the study. In the present study structured knowledge questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of staff nurses regarding CDC guidelines on prevention of infection in intensive care units. RESULTS The study revealed that the Mean knowledge score of 9 with Sd 1.8, 60 %of the staff nurses had adequate knowledge and, most of staff nurses had previous exposure (66.6 %) regarding CDC guidelines on prevention of infection in critical care areas. Result of the study pointed out that there is no significant association with selected socio demographic variables.