Factors that contribute to the spread of nosocomial infection among patients at Ferekum, Holy Famiy Hospital in Berekum East municipality in the bono region of Ghana.

Abstract

Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the factors that contribute to the spread of nosocomial infection among patients at Berekum, Holy Family Hospital in the Brong region of Ghana.Basic design of the study: The study adopted a cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach.Sampling technique: This research project utilizes stratified random sampling method for healthcare professionals and simple random method for patients.Data collection tool: The study adopted questionnaire as the data collection method.The survey involved 54 participants, primarily aged between middle-aged category (31-50 years old) for patients respondents and reveals a predominance of younger individuals, particularly in the age range of 18-30 for healthcare professionals. The healthcare professionals were 24 whiles the patients were 30. Sex of respondents, with respect to healthcare professionals 54.2% of the respondents are male, while 45.8% are female whiles Sex of respondents, with respect to patients 36.7% of the respondents are male, while 63.3% are female. As male respondents were predominant in healthcare professionals the inverse happens among patients. Majority of the respondents were married. There is a significant proportion of early-career healthcare professionals, with a relatively smaller portion having more extensive experience. Participants(patients) demonstrated below satisfactory level of knowledge(58.5%) towards HAIs. Healthcare professionals response rate towards hand hygiene practices was impressive (95.8%) labelling them as a non-contributory factor to HAIs. Overall patients personal hygiene compliance level demonstrated was 67.5% in these categories; hand hygiene(67.5%), body hygiene(72.5%) and oral hygiene (65.0%). These suggest a possible contributory factors to HAIs at the wards in relation with patient knowledge level and hygienic practices. The findings from this study would offer critical insights into the knowledge levels and personal hygiene practices among patients towards HAIs. This information could play a pivotal role in effectively planning and implementing measures to reduce the occurrences of HAIs at the various wards of Berekum, HFH