Photo Credit: FatCamera
The following is a summary of “Infection prevention behaviour among hospital nursing staff: Navigating in a complex and shifting work environment,” published in the February 2025 issue of Journal of Infection Prevention by Arvidsson et al.
Healthcare-associated infections pose a global threat, potentially linked to nurses’ infection prevention practices, which may be affected by the working conditions, but qualitative research in this area remains limited.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to describe nursing staff’s experiences and reflections on working conditions and infection prevention behaviors.
They performed a qualitative study using semi-structured focus group interviews across 4 surgical units and 2 orthopedic hospital units. A total of 27 nursing staff members (12 registered nurses and 15 assistant nurses) participated. Data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis.
The results showed 1 theme: Navigating in a complex and shifting context. Findings indicated that inadequate working conditions at times hindered infection prevention behaviors among nursing staff. Even when conditions appeared sufficient, hygiene routines could still fail due to unpredictable and unregulated situations frequently arising in hospital units.
Investigators concluded that the nursing staff faced challenges in maintaining infection prevention behaviors in a dynamic hospital setting, highlighting the need for organizational support and a multi-tiered approach to ensure sustainable practices.
Source: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17571774251322449
