Knowledge, Attitudes, and Adherence to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Transmission Prevention Among Health Care Workers

Introduction: Nosocomial Infections are acquired infections in a patient or any healthcare worker after provision of health services for other conditions in a healthcare setting. The Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is a serious nosocomial infection which is preventable. The main objective of the study is to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of health care workers (HCW's) in West Bank governmental- hospitals toward prevention strategies for MRSA. Methodology: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in all thirteen governmental hospitals in the West Bank targeting 331 HCW's randomly selected to fill the self-administrated questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 19. Results: With a response rate of 94.57%, it is clear that participants have poor knowledge level with regard to MRSA, in general, but have good awareness of MRSA prevention, in particular. With regard to standard precautions HCWs indicate poor adherence to MRSA infection controls. Differences were identified between HCWs self-reporting and co-worker reporting on standard precautions (gloving: 58.6% vs. 26.1%, gowning: 36% vs. 16.6%, hand hygiene before touching patients: 55.4% vs. 19.4%, hand hygiene after touching patients: 78% vs 29.7%, and overall aspects: 26.1% vs 9.4%). Among 62.8% HCWs surveyed, percentages were low for perceiving MRSA as a global problem, and only 55.2% are aware of the risk of infection in the workplace. Their perceived cues to action were low, where 32.6% of HCWs reported receiving meaningful education about MRSA and approximately 24% of them had personal experience that affected their attitudes towards MRSA. Conclusion: There remains a clear need for continuing education programs on nosocomial infections for HCWs across all specialties to promote awareness and encourage adherence towards reducing nosocomial infections in general and MRSA infection in particular.