425732

Assessment of knowledge and practices of Healthcare Workers in the field of IPC and Control in healthcare in Egypt

Article

Last updated: 04 May 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Infection and immunity.

Abstract

Background: IPC and Control (IPC) is essential for delivering safe and effective healthcare and poses a major public health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Egypt, where resources may be limited and healthcare infrastructure varies greatly across regions. In such contexts, the role of Healthcare Workers (HCWs) becomes critical. Their knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to IPC directly impact the safety of both patients and healthcare providers.  
Objectives: To assess the level of awareness and understanding of standard IPC guidelines among HCWs of various specialties and work experience and evaluate the extent to which they apply IPC practices in their daily clinical routine.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study design to assess hospital staff's knowledge of infection control. The study was conducted in four hospitals in different governorates, taking into account geographic and demographic diversity during the study period from October 1, 2024, to December 25, 2024. This study included 190 HCWs from various sectors (40 doctors, 80 nurses, 21 pharmacists, 8 medical equipment engineers, 24 technical staff, and 17 administrators).
Results: Knowledge about IPC for the 190 HCWs participating in this study: 85 (44.63%) were found to have knowledge about IPC, 57 (30%) were found to have moderate knowledge about IPC and 48 (25.37%) were found to have no knowledge about IPC.
Conclusion: This study highlights the critical importance of IPC knowledge and practices among HCWs in Egypt. While many HCWs demonstrated a basic understanding of IPC principles, notable gaps remain between knowledge and its practical application. The findings suggest that factors such as inadequate training, limited access to IPC resources, and workplace constraints contribute to suboptimal adherence to standard precautions.

DOI

10.21608/svuijm.2025.378652.2171

Keywords

IPC and Control (IPC), healthcare workers (HCWs), Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), personal protective equipment (PPE)

Authors

First Name

Ali Ahmed Mohamed

Last Name

Ibrahim

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Medical Services Department, Egyptian Ministry of Defense, Cairo, Egypt.

Email

aliapache73@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Rasha Saad

Last Name

Hussein

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

Email

-

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Eman Hany

Last Name

Elsebaie

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Email

-

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

8

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

52988

Issue Date

2025-01-01

Receive Date

2025-04-26

Publish Date

2025-01-01

Page Start

1,064

Page End

1,074

Print ISSN

2735-427X

Online ISSN

2636-3402

Link

https://svuijm.journals.ekb.eg/article_425732.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=425732

Order

425,732

Type

Original research articles

Type Code

1,520

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

SVU-International Journal of Medical Sciences

Publication Link

https://svuijm.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Assessment of knowledge and practices of Healthcare Workers in the field of IPC and Control in healthcare in Egypt

Details

Type

Article

Created At

04 May 2025