KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF NURSES REGARDING SURGICAL SCRUBBING IN OPERATION ROOMS

Introduction: Nurses among other healthcare providers work at the frontline to manage different concerns of patients. Therefore the want of basic knowledge and reflexes regarding personal hygiene, sterilization and infection control can undermine the wellbeing of the patients. This study is undertaken and aimed to assess the knowledge and practices of nurses regarding surgical scrubs. Methods: This cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among 100 nurses enrolled through convenient sampling working in different units of Jinnah Hospital Lahore using a self-structured questionnaire during June 2021 to September 2021. The questions were drafted from the guidelines and protocols of the American Association of Surgical Technologists Standards of Practice for Surgical Attire, Surgical Scrub, Hand Hygiene, and Hand washing. Results: Most of nurses correctly identified the constituents of surgical scrub attire e.g. surgical gown (92.0%), shoe cover (97.0%), head cover (93.0%), and masks (99.0%). 84.0% of nurses knew about the prohibition of wearing the surgical scrub outside the operation room, 82.0% demonstrated the correct method of putting on the personal protective equipment, only 61.0% recalled the permissible areas of hospital for carrying surgical scrubs. It was observed that despite having sufficient knowledge regarding scrubbing technique there was an evident lack of adopting such practices in professional lives. 65.0% of the nurses responded that they did not seek any formal education on scrubbing. Inconvenience (79.0%) was listed as most common causative factor for the lack of compliance. Conclusion: Despite having adequate background knowledge regarding donning and doffing of surgical scrubs the majority of the nurses were unable to comply with the practices in their professional lives. It was also observed that around 2/3rd of the subjects did not attend any formal training or workshop regarding infection control. Through guideline directed protocols, regular ward teaching rounds and health directed seminars surgical scrub practices can be encouraged to combat the burden of nosocomial infections in developing world. Keywords: Surgical Scrubs; Infection Control; Nurses; Knowledge and Practice