An investigation into nursing students’ application of infection prevention and control precautions

Abstract Background Undergraduate education of Health Care Workers is pivotal to ensuring that frontline clinicians have appropriate knowledge and skills in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC). Objectives The aim of this study was to describe undergraduate nursing students' self-reported compliance with Standard Precautions and to explore the psychosocial factors that influence adherence in clinical practice. Design A cross-sectional survey design was used. Setting The study was conducted in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at an Australian University. Participants All undergraduate nursing students were invited to participate in an online survey; 321 participated, mean age 25.7 years (SD = 8.4). The majority, 196 (61%), had no healthcare work experience, 54 (17%) were patient-care assistants, 40 (13%) enrolled nurses, and 31 (9%) were nurses registered overseas. Methods Two validated instruments were used: the Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale (CSPS) and the Factors Influencing Adherence to Standard Precautions Scale– Student version (FIASPS-SV). Linear regression was used to measure the impact of psychosocial factors on self-reported compliance. Results Overall self-reported compliance with prevention of cross-infection was 83%, use of Personal Protective Equipment (81%), correct disposal of sharps (83%) and general waste (75%), and equipment decontamination (69%). The predominant factors endorsed on the FIASPS-SV were ‘Leadership’ (M = 15.21 SD = 5.28) and ‘Contextual cues’ (M = 19.09 SD = 6.37). Multivariate linear regression demonstrated that after adjusting for age, gender and years of nursing study, the Leadership factor predicted participants' self-reported compliance on the ‘prevention of cross-infection’ (p  Conclusions These findings highlight that strong clinical leadership and role modelling are essential to ensure all healthcare students prioritise rigorous adherence with infection prevention and control guidelines.