Roles of infection control nurses in provincial hospitals.

OBJECTIVE To study the roles of infection control nurses (ICNs) in provincial hospitals. MATERIAL AND METHOD Interview using a semi-structured interview form. RESULTS Nine hospitals were enrolled by stratified sampling and 11 ICNs were included. Interview was done by the researcher during April and May 2002. All ICNs were female and in middle-aged group. Their mean experience in IC was 6.4 +/- 4.5 years. All ICNs could perform their duties according the roles set by the Department of Nursing in surveillance, personnel health, education, consultation, administration and quality improvement. Only about one half had experience in outbreak investigation and research. The commonest problems were excessive workload, lack of co-operation of medical personnel and lack of budget for immunization. CONCLUSION All sampled ICNs in provincial hospitals performed their roles except only one half were involved in outbreak investigation and research.