Highlights
- •Aseptic technique is an important part of clinical care.
- •Nurses' understanding of aseptic technique appears to be suboptimal.
- •Education and periodic reassessment could improve practice.
Background
In many countries, aseptic procedures are undertaken by nurses in the general ward
setting, but variation in practice has been reported, and evidence indicates that
the principles underpinning aseptic technique are not well understood.
Methods
A survey was conducted, employing a brief, purpose-designed, self-reported questionnaire.
Results
The response rate was 72%. Of those responding, 65% of nurses described aseptic technique
in terms of the procedure used to undertake it, and 46% understood the principles
of asepsis. The related concepts of cleanliness and sterilization were frequently
confused with one another. Additionally, 72% reported that they not had received training
for at least 5 years; 92% were confident of their ability to apply aseptic technique;
and 90% reported that they had not been reassessed since their initial training. Qualitative
analysis confirmed a lack of clarity about the meaning of aseptic technique.
Conclusion
Nurses' understanding of aseptic technique and the concepts of sterility and cleanliness
is inadequate, a finding in line with results of previous studies. This knowledge
gap potentially places patients at risk. Nurses' understanding of the principles of
asepsis could be improved. Further studies should establish the generalizability of
the study findings. Possible improvements include renewed emphasis during initial
nurse education, greater opportunity for updating knowledge and skills post-qualification,
and audit of practice.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 21, 2017
Footnotes
The Welsh Government, United Kingdom, provided funding to support this research.
Conflicts of Interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectLinked Article
- Letter to the editor regarding “Survey to explore understanding of the principles of aseptic technique: Qualitative content analysis with descriptive analysis of confidence and training”American Journal of Infection ControlVol. 48Issue 2
- PreviewThe Association for Safe Aseptic Practice (The-ASAP) continues to receive international communications from concerned Aseptic Non Touch Technique (ANTT) users, resulting directly from the recently published article by Gould and colleagues.1 We, as well as the contacting clinicians, are concerned about the gross inaccuracies and misleading statements contained in this study.
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