Perceptions and Mindset toward Infection Control and Prevention among Medical Microbiology Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24086/cuesj.v9n1y2025.pp24-28Keywords:
Health-care-associated infections, infection prevention and control, hygiene, awareness, attitude, medical microbiologyAbstract
Health care-associated infections HCAIs are significant public health problems. They can lead to high rate of morbidity and mortality, and raise the cost of health care services, in developed and developing countries. Simple and routine education for health care personnel, including students of medical colleges or departments about the main preventive measures and infection control can help them to enhance their hand-washing practices and adhere to necessary precautions to prevent the spread of infection and reduce incidence of HCAIs. The period of first stages of medical education is the suitable phase and proper time for getting the necessary information and skills about infection prevention and control (IPC) practices. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, awareness, and attitude of students of Medical Microbiology Department in Cihan University-Erbil towards the guidelines and main practices of infection prevention and control. The study revealed variable levels of knowledge and awareness about infection control precautions among students, and also showed inadequate practical adherence to some important precautions among a significant percentage of students. To enhance the safety of students and patients, we believe that it is necessary to begin teaching the basic knowledge about infections and the principles of infection prevention and control precautions during the first period of study in the college.
Downloads
References
A. Hoxha, E. Duysburgh and L. Mortgat. Healthcare-associated infections in home healthcare: An extensive assessment, 2019. Eurosurveillance, vol. 26, no. 5, p. 1900646, 2021.
A. Ghashghaee, M. R. Benis, A. Aryankhesal, K. Tanha, H. Hosseinifard, L. Janani, S. Raoofi, A. Lahimchi, S. Alihosseini, D. Gharagozlou, M. Javanbakht, Z. M. Kiaee and H. Shabaninejad. The prevalence of hospital-acquired infections in the EMRO: A systematic review and meta-analysis from 2000 to 2018. 2019. SSRN Electronic Journal, vol. 3, pp. 32-37.
V. Rangelova, R. Raycheva, A. Kevorkyan, M. Krasteva and T. Dermendzhiev. Surveillance of nosocomial infections in a Bulgarian neonatal intensive care unit. Folia Medica, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 753-761, 2020.
M. G. Gozel, C. H. Hekimoglu, E. Y. Gozel, E. Batir, M. L. McLaws and E. A. Mese. National infection control program in Turkey: The healthcare associated infection rate experiences over 10 years. American Journal of Infection Control, vol. 49, no. 7, pp. 885-892, 2021.
R. Gazzarata, M. E. Monteverde, C. Ruggiero, N. Maggi, D. Palmieri, G. Parruti and M. Giacomini. Healthcare associated infections: An interoperable infrastructure for multidrug resistant organism surveillance. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 17, no. 2, p. 465, 2020.
N. B. Johnson, L. D. Hayes, K. Brown, E. C. Hoo and K. A. Ethier. CDC National Health Report: Leading causes of morbidity and mortality and associated behavioral risk and protective factors--United States, 2005-2013. MMWR Supplements, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 3-27, 2014.
M. Haque, M. Sartelli, J. McKimm and M. A. Bakar. Health careassociated infections-an overview. Infection and Drug Resistance, vol. 1. pp. 2321-2333, 2018.
A. Cassini, D. Plachouras, T. Eckmanns, M. Abu Sin, H. P. Blank, T. Ducomble, S. Haller, T. Harder, A. Klingeberg, M. Sixtensson, E. Velasco, B. Weiß, P. Kramarz, D. L. Monnet, M. E. Kretzschmar and C. Suetens. Burden of six healthcare-associated infections on European population health: Estimating incidence-based disability-adjusted life years through a population prevalencebased modelling study. PLoS Medicine, vol. 13, no. 10, p.e1002150, 2016.
J. L. Vincent. Nosocomial infections in adult intensive-care units. The Lancet, vol. 361, no. 9374, pp. 2068-2077, 2003.
W. Duszynska, V. D. Rosenthal, A. Szczesny, K. Zajaczkowska, M. Fulek and J. Tomaszewski. Device associated- health care associated infections monitoring, prevention and cost assessment at intensive care unit of University Hospital in Poland (2015-2017). BMC Infectious Diseases, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 761, 2020.
R. Danasekaran, G. Mani and K. Annadurai. Prevention of healthcare-associated infections: Protecting patients, saving lives. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, vol. 1, p. 67, 2014.
D. Hazard, M. von Cube, K. Kaier and M. Wolkewitz. Predicting potential prevention effects on hospital burden of nosocomial infections: A multistate modeling approach. Value in Health, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 830-838, 2021.
A. Ayub, A. Goyal, A. Kotwal, A. Kulkarni, A. Kotwal and A. Mahen. Infection control practices in health care: Teaching and learning requirements of medical undergraduates. Medical Journal Armed Forces India, vol. 69, no. 2, pp. 107-112, 2013.
A. A. Ibrahim and S. S. Elshafie. Knowledge, awareness, and attitude regarding infection prevention and control among medical students: A call for educational intervention. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, vol. 7, pp. 505-510, 2016.
R. S. Al-Kayali, H. A. Al-Essa, A. Khouri, W. Khaddam, M. Salloum, S. Shehade and A. Jaddouh. Knowledge, attitudes and practices toward Covid-19 among population: An online-based cross-sectional study from Syria. European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 16-24, 2020.
S. P. Clarke, J. L. Rockett, D. M. Sloane and L. H. Aiken. Organizational climate, staffing, and safety equipment as predictors of needlestick injuries and near-misses in hospital nurses. American Journal of Infection Control, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 207-216, 2002.
M. Sommer, G. Zulaika, M. L. Schmitt, S. Khandakji and P. A. Phillips-Howard. Advancing the measurement agenda for menstrual health and hygiene interventions in low-and middleincome countries. Journal of Global Health, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 010323, 2020.
S. Scheithauer, H. Haefner, T. Schwanz, L. Lopez-Gonzalez, C. Bank, R. Schulze-Röbbecke, M. Weishoff-Houben and S. W. Lemmen. Hand hygiene in medical students: Performance, education and knowledge. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, vol. 215, no. 5, pp. 536-539, 2012.
W. B. Melenhorst, H. P. Poos and N. E. Meessen. Medical students need more education on hygiene behavior. American Journal of Infection Control, vol. 37, no. 10, pp. 868-869, 2009.
A. Richter, I. F. Chaberny, A. Surikow and B. Schock. Hygiene in medical education-increasing patient safety through the implementation of practical training in infection prevention. GMS Journal for Medical Education, vol. 36, no. 2, p. Doc15, 2019.
K. Calabro, K. Bright and K. Kouzekanani. Long-term effectiveness of infection control training among fourth-year medical students. Medical Education Online, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 5850, 2000.
Z. Zhang, T. Yamamoto, X. Wu, K. Moji, G. Cai and C. Kuroiwa. Educational intervention for preventing bloodborne infection among medical students in China. Journal of Hospital Infection, vol. 75, no. 1, pp. 47-51, 2010.
R. Kaur, H. Razee and H. Seale. Facilitators and barriers around teaching concepts of hand hygiene to undergraduate medical students. Journal of Hospital Infection, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 28-33, 2014.
M. H. Ubeid, T. S. Salih and A. S. Juma. HIV, HBS and HCV in dump site workers of Erbil governorate. Cihan University-Erbil Scientific Journal, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 20-23, 2021.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Salaheddin M. Shehade, Ameena S.M. Juma, Muhsin H. Ubeid, Mustafa D. Younus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Accepted 2025-01-05
Published 2025-01-30
