Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Associated Factors Toward the Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection Among Nurses in Ethiopia: Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is one of the major device-associated hospital-acquired infections of the urinary tract. The nurse's knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) are the primary inputs for preventing the patient from developing CAUTI. Nevertheless, poor knowledge, a negative attitude, and poor practice toward the prevention of CAUTI among nurses remain an extensive problem.

Objective: This study aimed to assess KAP and associated factors toward the prevention of CAUTI among nurses in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2021.

Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among nurses from March 1 to April 30, 2021, in five public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 344 nurses were chosen for the study using a systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected using knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the prevention of CAUTI questionnaires. Data were entered into Epi Data 4.2 and exported into SPSS 25 for analysis. Binary and multivariate logistic regression were performed, and the statistical significance of associations between the variables was determined using odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval and p < .05.

Results: The study included 344 nurses, with a 97.7% response rate. Of the total nurses, 42.7% had good knowledge, 48.0% had a positive attitude, and 54.9% had good practice toward the prevention of CAUTI. Being married, having guidelines, and having a positive attitude were associated with good knowledge, whereas being married, having good knowledge, and having good practice were associated with a positive attitude toward the prevention of CAUTI. Having a high monthly income, having guidelines, having good knowledge, and having a positive attitude were associated with good practices toward the prevention of CAUTI.

Conclusion: The findings of this study show that nurses have a low level of knowledge, a negative attitude, and poor practice toward the prevention of CAUTI. Factors such as marital status, monthly income, and having guidelines in the working unit were associated with KAP toward the prevention of CAUTI. Therefore, the Ministry of Health and Hospital Interventions focused on these findings are required to improve KAP toward the prevention of CAUTI among nurses.