Abstract:
Background: Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) remain a common cause
of death, functional disability, emotional suffering and economic burden
among hospitalized patients. Knowledge of HAIs is important in its prevention
and control. This study seeks to assess the knowledge of Hospital Acquired
Infections (HAIs) among medical students in a Tertiary Hospital in
Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria. Methods: This was
a descriptive cross-sectional study done in October 2019 among clinical medical
students using a Multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using
a self-administered structured questionnaire and analyzed using the IBM
SPSS 20 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Ethical approval was
granted by Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Ethics Committee, Jos,
Plateau State. Results: A total of 219 students in the clinical arm of the College
of Medicine and Health Sciences were selected. A higher proportion
(97.7%) of respondents knew about Hospital Acquired Infections and 85.4%
knew that Hospital Acquired infections occur in the hospital, and (86.3%)
considered patients contagious with half (58.9%) considered patients as the
most important source of HAIs, followed by care givers (13.2%), then doctors
including medical students and interns (10.0%) and lastly nurses (8.7%). The
majority of respondents (70.8%) considered Surgical Wound Infections to be
the most commonly occurring HAI, followed by UTIs (69.9%), RTIs (61.2%),
BSIs (37.0%) and others (0.9%). The clinical thermometer was the instrument
that most commonly transmits HAIs (82.6%), then followed by stethoscope
(62.1%), white coats (53.9%), and blood pressure cuff (51.1%). Most respondents
knew the infectious substances, like blood (96.3%), nasal discharge(82.6%), saliva (85.3%), and faeces (79.4%) transmitted HAIs, 72.6% of the
respondents said that they were aware of the recommended hand washing
techniques by WHO. Conclusion: The majority of students 91.3% had good
knowledge while 8.7% had poor knowledge of HAIs. Lower classes had more
respondents with poor knowledge. This finding was statistically significant (p
= 0.002, Chi-square 12.819). Students are encouraged to keep up the level of
knowledge they have about HAIs. These students can help improve the
knowledge of those whose knowledge level is low. Government and NGOs
should support sponsorship for capacity-building events targeted at HAIs for
healthcare workers and medical students.
