Surgical Site Infections in Owo Hospitals: How Nurses' Awareness and Practices Impact Prevention

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is a burden to the patient and family as it extends the number of days spent in the ward post-surgery. This study assessed the perception of factors associated with surgical site infection among nurses in selected hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was utilized for the study. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 100 respondents for the study. Data was collected using a self-constructed questionnaire. Data obtained were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 22. Results were summarized using frequency tables and charts. Results showed that the prevalence of surgical site infection among postoperative patients was 47%, with approximately 20% mortality rate. Also, the study showed that 88% of the respondents have high knowledge of SSI. Preventive practices adopted against SSI among respondents were: skin preparation using alcohol (76%), hand washing before wound care (92%), aseptic technique (80%), assessment of surgical site (89%), antibiotics usage (89%) and use of surgical mask (98%); overall, 97% of the respondents showed good level of preventive practice. The study showed a significant relationship between knowledge and preventive practice of SSI among respondents (X2= 20.20, df=4, p < 0.05). Also, there was a significant relationship between the duration of surgery and SSI among postoperative patients (X2 = 18.21, df=3, p < 0.05). The study concludes that SSI is well known among the respondents. However, the identified factors seem to contribute to the increase in SSI among the patients the respondents cared for