Evaluation of nurses' knowledge and practices in healthcare-associated infections management following clinical pharmacist-led training in a Romanian clinical hospital using a questionnaire.

Abstract

Background: Romania has one of the highest rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in Europe. Nurses need strong theoretical and practical knowledge to manage HAIs effectively since they have direct contact with patients.

Objective: To evaluate post-intervention differences in nurses' theoretical knowledge and practical skills in HAIs management following clinical pharmacist-led training, a newly developed questionnaire was applied.

Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental, non-randomised study with a test and a control group. A structured 17-item questionnaire was developed and delivered via Microsoft Forms. Participants comprised nurses from the study hospital (test; n = 66) and a similar setting outside the hospital (control; n = 102). The test group completed the questionnaire twice, first after a face-to-face training provided by a clinical pharmacist, and second at 4 weeks. The control group received no training and completed the same questionnaire once. We explored preliminary content and structural validity, internal consistency, and short-term post-intervention stability.

Results: A total of 168 nurses completed the questionnaire: 66 in the test group and 102 in the control group. Practical skills scores were higher in the test group (M = 4.73, SD = 0.42) compared with the control group (M = 4.16, SD = 0.88), F (1,126) = 5.20, p = .02. Psychometric evaluation provided preliminary evidence of acceptable validity and internal consistency of the questionnaire.

Discussion: The observed post-intervention differences suggest that participation in the training was associated with higher practical skills scores. Limitations include the non-randomised design and self-report measures; future work should assess long-term retention beyond 4 weeks.