INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL PRACTICES OBSERVED BY STUDENTS OF A MEDICAL COLLEGE

Abstract

Introduction: Infection control is vital to ensure prevention of cross infection in the hospital. This study was conducted to determine the infection control measures practiced by medical students of a private medical college in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Materials & Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study based on self-administered questionnaires was conducted from July-August 2016 at Jinnah Medical College, Peshawar, where 110 MBBS students of 3rd and 4th years were selected using convenient sampling technique. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20 for descriptive statistics.
Results: A total of 90(81.8% response rate) students participated in the study; 49(54.4%) were female and 41(44.6%) were male with ages ranging from 22-25 years. Regarding awareness, 87(96.7%) knew what the term ‘infection’ meant, and 77(85.6%) claimed knowledge of preventive measures for various infectious diseases. The main source of information 56(64.4%) was discussion in classrooms. Infection control practices were observed by 77(85.6%) students with handwashing considered as the core tool for infection control practices. Only 49(54.4%) students were aware that use of personal protective equipment (PPE) was considered as standard protocol for infection control. Similarly, 80(88.9%) felt that handling a patient without PPE can be a source of spreading infection. Majority of the students considered that raising awareness about infection prevention and control would be beneficial for the community.
Conclusion: Students of Jinnah Medical College were well informed about infections and most of them had acquired information from teachers and books for detailed understanding on this subject. Standard precautionary measures for Infection control were followed, however they only focused on handwashing and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) without understanding the details of infection control protocols.