Iran Journal of Nursing

  Background and Aim : Nosocomial infections have increasingly resulted in death and the patients should bear high treating costs. About 25 percent of all nosocomial infections have been reported from ICUs. Members of the medical team, especially nurses, could play an important role in prevention and control of nosocomial infections. This research has been done to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of ICU nurses working in teaching hospitals of Tabriz.

  Material and method : In this descriptive research, 115 nurses working in ICU units with at least one year working experience were selected as samples. The data collection tool was a self-made questionnaire to assess knowledge and attitude and also included a behavioral check list. Content validity was established. Reliability was examined by test-retest (for nowledge and attitude section) and split-half technique (for practice section).

  Results : Findings showed that 93.9% of nurses had average knowledge and 94.7 % had positive attitude towards nosocomial infections control. Almost all nurses (99.1%) had moderate practice to control nosocomial infections. There was not a statistically significant relationship between knowledge, attitude, and practice and demographic characteristics of samples (P>0.05).

  Conclusion : Considering the average level of knowledge and practice of most nurses, paying more attention by authorities to this specific topic is essential in order to apply the necessary actions for training of nurses.