CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
According to the World Health Organization’s 2013 health profile (WHO, 2013) figures, infection-related disorders are still the leading cause of mortality in Nigeria. HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases, as well as respiratory infections, are all prevalent in Nigeria. The growth in infection occurrences in the country has resulted in the expansion of infection prevention and control initiatives. This rise in infection-related diseases has resulted in an increase in health financing in Nigeria, with the government contributing 57.5 percent more to health care than was budgeted for (WHO, 2014). Because infectious patients are admitted to hospitals, hospitals have become common sites for disease transmission. Infected patients in hospitals can spread infection to other patients, health care professionals, and visitors (Sydnor & Perl, 2011). Hospital-acquired infections, also known as nosocomial infections, are one of the main causes of death and have a high economic cost due to higher hospitalization and prognosis (WHO, 2015). According to WHO (2010), a hospital acquired infection is an infection that develops in a patient while he or she is receiving care in a health care facility and was not present or incubating at the time of admission. These infections arise more than 48 to 72 hours after admission and within 10 days of discharge from the hospital (Collins 2008:2).
The hospital environment has been saturated with highly pathogenic organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenic, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aureginosa, and Hepatitis viruses that thrive in a hospital due to the admission of patients with various germs. Diseases caused by these organisms range from mild skin infections to life-threatening disorders like sepsis (Sydnor, & Perl, 2011).
The Nigerian Ministry of Health has stated that the Ebola virus disease pandemic poses a public health danger because the disease has spread to neighboring countries, and that infection prevention and control measures should be tightened. According to the Nigerian health policy, health-care institutions must offer a safe environment for the patients under their care. Because hospital nurses are the foundation of infection prevention and control, they may contribute to illness transmission or prevent and control infection. According to Damani (2012), the environment in which a patient is cared for must be carefully organized in order to minimize the danger of infection transmission. Infection prevention and control procedures are designed to keep susceptible people from becoming infected while receiving medical care (Damani, 2012). Hospital-acquired infections can be caused by a lack of information, negative attitudes, and inadequate practices among nurses in the prevention and control of infections.
Hand hygiene is the most critical intervention for preventing illness transmission and should be a quality standard in all health care facilities. Individuals involved in the delivery of health care who do not wash their hands can increase the prevalence of hospital-acquired illnesses. The majority of students in a study conducted in India by Nair, Hanumantappa, Hinemath, Siraj, and Raghunath (2013:3) assessed knowledge, attitude, and practices of hand hygiene among medical and nursing students at a tertiary health care center had insufficient knowledge.
Nurses’ lack of understanding can contribute to an increase in hospital-acquired illnesses. Tirivanhu, Ancia, and Petronella (2014:73) conducted a study in Zimbabwe to assess the barriers to infection prevention and control practices among nurses at the Bindura provincial hospital. Only n= 14 (28 percent) of n= 50 (100 percent) nurses had outstanding knowledge of infection control concepts, and n= 21 (42 percent) of n= 50 nurses did not use infection control manuals, according to the study. Infection control seminars were poorly organized, with 68 percent of nurses missing out on any infection prevention and control sessions (Tirivanhu et al., 2014). Hayeh and Esena (2013:47) examined infection prevention and control (IPC) behaviors among health care professionals at Ridge Regional Hospital in New York City.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
A research problem is an area of concern in which the information foundation required for nursing practice is lacking (Burns & Grove 2011:146). Nurses do not use infection prevention and control procedures in the hospital context, according to the study, which is essential to ensure patient safety. High incidence of hospital-acquired infections are due to a lack of understanding, attitude, and practices in infection prevention and control (Jain, Dogra, Mishra, Thaku and loomba, 2012 & Hayeh and Esena, 2013). Uncontrollable nosocomial infection leads to increased length of stay, morbidity, and mortality, putting a strain on the country’s health-care economy (Mishta, Banerjee & Gosain, 2014).
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following objectives for the study have been established based on the goal:
1.Infection prevention and control knowledge of midwives in Miaduguri.
2.The attitude of Maiduguri’s midwives toward infection prevention and control.
3.Infection prevention and control strategies of Maiduguri’s midwives
4.Make recommendations to Maiduguri’s risk program and policies.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.What is the degree of infection prevention and control knowledge, attitudes, and practices among health care workers in Miaduguri?
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