Competency and Compliance of Nurses in Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections: a Cross-Sectional Study

This study assessed the competency and compliance of nurses in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines. It examined nurses’ competency in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitude, and their compliance with infection prevention practices such as hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, aseptic technique, and environmental disinfection. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was utilized. A total of 68 ICU nurses were selected using proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire based on World Health Organization guidelines and validated by experts. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient were used. Findings revealed very high competency and compliance. No significant difference was found when grouped according to age, sex, educational attainment, ICU area, and training, while a significant difference in compliance was noted by years of experience. A moderate positive relationship (r = 0.416, p < 0.05) between competency and compliance was identified, indicating that higher competency is associated with higher compliance.