Association between Hospital Nurses’ Perception of Patient Safety Management and Standard Precaution Adherence: A Cross-Sectional Study

Lim, Ji-Hye; Ahn, Jung-Won; Son, Youn-Jung

All the participants were female, the average age was 29.48 ± 4.50 years, and 242 (73.6%) were single. The majority were university graduates (73.9%) and staff nurses (83.0%). The average for the nurses' total clinical experience was 6.74 ± 4.72 years. Participants were working in medical (31.3%), surgical (24.9%), or intensive care units (19.8%). The average nurse-to-patient ratio was one nurse to 10.25 ± 4.63 patients, and the average working hours per week were 44.57 ± 4.06. Most participants had previously attended patient safety education and infection control education course. The mean score of perception of patient safety management was 3.89 ± 0.46 (Table 1) . Table 2 shows the five highest and lowest scored items for adherence to standard precautions. The average score of the standard precaution adherence was 10.71 ± 4.39, and the overall adherence rate was approximately 53.5%. The item with the highest adherence was "I put used sharp articles into sharps box" (94.8%), whereas the item with the lowest adherence was "I wear a gown or apron when exposed to blood, body fluids, or any patient excretions" (17.9%). 19 I wear a surgical mask alone or in combination with goggles, face shield, and apron whenever there is a possibility of a splash or splatter 106 32.2 20 I wear a gown or apron when exposed to blood, body fluids, or any patient excretions 59 17.9