Nurse's knowledge and practice towards prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infection: A systematic review

Abstract

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is a common complication associated with indwelling urinary catheters, frequently used in healthcare settings. Nurses play a critical role in preventing CAUTI, as they are often responsible for inserting, maintaining and removing urinary catheters. Therefore, it is important to comprehensively assess nurses' level of knowledge about CAUTIs and the variables that influence their application of best practices and recommendations for preventing these infections. The PRISMA principles were used to conduct a literature search for relevant research publications across several online databases (Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE and Scopus). The quality of these studies was evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. There were 397 research articles, however only 21 articles were included after the screening. The majority of participants possessed diplomas ranging from 3% to 88.2%. In addition, the percentage of nurses with bachelor's degree's ranges from 11.80% to 100%. Moreover, 23.90% of registered nurses hold a master's degree. Most nurses had between 1 and 5 and more than 5 years of experience. Nurses held good/adequate and average knowledge and practices regarding prevention and control of CAUTIs. Furthermore, age, gender, work experience, professional experience, in-service training, CAUTI prevention guidelines, time, equipment, personnel availability and work unit were all identified barriers. While continuing/in-service education and self-guided modules served as facilitators for the prevention of CAUTIs. Meanwhile, studies were found of good methodological quality. Improving nurses' knowledge and practice towards preventing CAUTI is crucial to reducing the prevalence of the infection and improving patient outcomes. Implementing evidence-based interventions can help bridge the gap in knowledge and practice among nurses, ultimately leading to better patient care and outcomes.