Abstract
Background: Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are still a major cause of morbidity in the hospitalised child population, especially in resource-poor tertiary level healthcare centres with high workload and limited resources that may negatively affect infection control measures. Although there are good guidelines for infection prevention and control, there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of structured nursing interventions in paediatric units in Northern Nigeria.
Objective: The study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of structured nursing care on minimizing hospital-acquired infections in children admitted to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano State.
Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used with 204 paediatric nurses, who were equally divided into an intervention (n = 102) and a control (n = 102) group. Structured questionnaires and observational checklists were used to gather data at the pre-intervention (baseline) and post-intervention phases. The data were analyzed statistically using SPSS version 26.0 (5% level of significance) which included chi-square test, independent samples t-test and logistic regression.
Results: At baseline and post intervention, there was statistically significant adherence to IPC protocols (p = 0.003 and p = 0.027, respectively). Proper hand hygiene (p = 0.043), aseptic technique during procedures (p = 0.002), continuous IPC training (p = 0.002), and nursing surveillance (p = 0.003) were significant nursing interventions that helped decrease HAIs. Unit placement (aOR = 4.7, p = 0.001), gender (aOR = 3.1, p = 0.023) and years of experience (aOR = 2.8, p = 0.024) were significant predictors of adherence post-intervention in logistic regression. The barriers reported were workload and lack of personal protective equipment, which were present in both groups but did not differ between the groups.
Conclusions: The structured, context-sensitive nursing interventions have a significant positive effect on adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) standards and help to decrease HAIs on paediatric patients. Consistent availability of IPC resources, sustained training and institutional monitoring are crucial to maintaining gains in compliance and patient safety.