BACKGROUND: This study was aimed to assess the level of knowledge on the disinfection among nurses in the hospital. METHODS: Data was collected from the nurses who participated in an educational meeting of Korean Association of Infection Control Nurses for two days from July 7 to 8 in 2000. Seventy nurses (58.3%), among 120 participants. were answered to the 32 item questionnaire which was developed to test the level of knowledge in different types of disinfection. The correct answers for each item were computed and the rate of the total correct answer was dichotomized and compared at the level of 60% correct answer to identify the respondent's characteristics which affect the knowledge on the disinfection. RESULTS: The percent of the correct answer was 60.0% in total. 63.4% for the disinfectants general; 59.4% for the disinfection of skin: 57.6% for the disinfection of devices: 63.9% for the disinfection of endoscopies, and 55.1% for the disinfection of environments. The percent of correct answer was significantly higher among the nurses who participated in the educational programs on the disinfection previously (p=0.006), as well as the nurses who are at the infection control office or at the quality improvement department compared to other areas in the hospital (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the level of knowledge about the disinfection was low with only 63% of the correct rate in total. We perceive that more educational programs and manuals on the use of disinfectants in a hospital setting is urgently required.
Disinfectants ; Disinfection* ; Infection Control ; Quality Improvement ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Skin