Flora Infeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Dergisi (Sep 2012)
Awareness Level of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Staff Regarding the Isolation of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci and the Importance of Education
Abstract
Introduction: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have become an important problem for hospitals. Enterococci, despite being a natural member of the intestine flora, are increasingly being isolated as responsible agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness level of the staff of a neonatal intensive care unit regarding VRE and isolation precaution and to determine the effectiveness of training on this issue. Materials and Methods: The sample of this study consisted of 40 staff working in the neonatal intensive care unit of an obstetric, gynecology and pediatric hospital in Istanbul who accepted to join the study. The data of the study were collected by a survey including 36 questions. The sociodemographic properties of the sample and pre- and post-test results were evaluated with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. Results: Thirty-five percent of the staff were aged 26-32 years, 57.5% graduated from university and 75.5% were nurses. 67.5% of the participants had provided health care services to VRE-infected patients previously. At pre-test, 35% of participants could define VRE and its properties; after training, this ratio rose to 90%. While before the training, the awareness of VRE isolation and protection precaution ratio was 62.51, this ratio rose to 92.81 after the training. The most notable finding is that when the nurse group was compared with the physician group, the nurses were better informed about VRE isolation precaution and protection materials both before and after the training. Conclusion: In the trained group, when the pre- and post-test scores were compared, the difference was statistically significant (t=5.31, p<0.05), and the training was shown to increase the scores. Interactive educational methods could be effective on learning in addition to the application of theoretical information in practice.
