Compliance with standard precautions during clinical training of nursing students in Saudi Arabia: A multi-university study

Abstract

Introduction: Nursing students are susceptible to healthcare-associated infections because of their direct patient interactions during their clinical training. Hence, compliance with standard precautions (SPs) is paramount during their clinical exposure and training. This study investigated the compliance with SPs and its predictors among Saudi nursing students from six universities.

Methodology: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in six government universities in Saudi Arabia. A convenience sample of 829 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students was surveyed using the Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out to analyze the data.

Results: The overall compliance rate of the respondents was 60.1% with a mean score of 12.02 (SD = 4.50). The students reported highest compliance on covering the mouth and nose when wearing a mask, while the lowest compliance was on disposing sharps box before it is full. The university, academic year level, and attendance to infection prevention and control training or seminar in the last six months were identified as significant predictors of the students' compliance with SPs.

Conclusions: The findings provide valuable insights and guidance for improving the practice of SPs among future nurses, which could result in the reduction of infection exposure and its transmission rates among future nurses in clinical settings.

Keywords: Baccalaureate nursing; Compliance; Infection Prevention and Control; Nursing Education; Saudi Arabia; Standard precautions.