Surgical Technologists’ Knowledge Regarding the Principles of Surgical Site Infection Prevention in AL-Zahra Hospital of Isfahan City: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Surgical technologists play an important role in prevention and control of surgical site infections. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining knowledge and awareness of surgical technologists regarding the principles of surgical site infection prevention and its relationship with their demographic characteristics. Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 110 surgical technologists in AL-Zahra hospital of Isfahan in 2018. Participants was selected by convenience sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire assessing knowledge regarding the principles of surgical site infection prevention. The questionnaire consisted of 11 questions with three options and the total score was 100. The range of scores was 0-33 for poor knowledge, 34-66 for average knowledge and 67-100 for good knowledge. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, and Spearman and Pearson correlation tests. Results: Mean and standard deviation score of surgical technologists’ knowledge was 78/51±12/66. Therefore, they had good knowledge about the principles of surgical site infection prevention. Results showed that there was not any significant relationship (p>0.05) between their knowledge score and demographic characteristics. Discussion and Conclusion: Surgical technologists should improve their knowledge and practice in identifying and preventing hospital infections. Having enough knowledge to practice properly to control surgical site infection is necessary. Moreover, the results showed that the score of surgical technologists knowledge was not influenced by demographic variables. It may affect by their workplace, receiving the same training and accessing to new sources of information.