Validation of questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitude and Practice of nurse helper and service staffs in the face of nosocomial infections

Nosocomial infection is an infection that a patient develops 48 hours after hospitalization or up to 72 hours after discharge. The infection should not exist at the time of admission, and should not be in the latent stage. Nosocomial infections can lead to economic, social, and physiological problems for the patients and hospital staff. Since nurse aids and service staff have important roles in controlling nosocomial infections, this study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess their knowledge, attitude, and performance in regard to nosocomial infections.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed in 2019. Questionnaire items were extracted by searching SID, Magiran, PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct databases using Google Scholar search engine. The questionnaire validity was assessed using the opinion of 10 nosocomial infection control specialists. In order to assess the reliability and face validity, the questionnaire was given to 135 nurse aids and service staff working in Tehran hospitals. Data were analyzed using SPSS18 software and LISREL8.8.

The content validity index and content validity ratio for knowledge, attitude, and performance sections of the questionnaire were between 0.8 and 1. The face validity of the questionnaire items ranged from 1.6 to 5. In the knowledge section of the questionnaire, Kuder- Richardson reliability coefficient was 0.7 and Cronbach's alpha for attitude and performance sections were 0.76 and 0.71, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient for knowledge, attitude, and performance were 0.86, 0.89, and 0.93, respectively. Three-factor confirmatory analysis showed the questionnaire had a good fit The mean scores of employees’ knowledge, attitude, and performance in regard to nosocomial infections were 0.44±0.19 (intermediate), 0.71±0.18 (positive) and 0.63±0.16 (intermediate), respectively

The questionnaire had good validity and reliability for assessment of nurse aids’ and service staffs’ knowledge, attitude and performance in relation to nosocomial infections. The levels of performance and knowledge of the nurse aids and service staff working at Tehran hospitals about nosocomial infections control were moderate and their attitude was neutral.