The aim of this study was to assess an educational training program for nurses
working in MCH centers in Assiut regarding infection control. The study was
conducted in all maternal and child health centers (MCH) in Assiut City. The total
number of the study sample in all MCH centers was72 nurses. There are two tools
used for data collection: an interview questiOlmaire and an observation checklist. The
interview questionnaire was used before and after the program to measure the exact
level of knowledge that nurses have about infection such as (definition of
sterilization, proper isolation, good infection control, types of sterilization, equipment
that may be sterilized in autoclave (6 questions).!t also assesses nurses knowledge
about universal precaution related to blood and body fluids (16 questions) and their
knowledge about hand washing (3 questions). The second tool (practice) is an
observation checklist that was developed for assessing nurses' performance. Data
were collected during the period from the beginning of January 2003 to October
2003. Each center takes two months. Results of this study indicated that nearly half
(48.6%) of the sample were (48.6%) in the age group 20-30 years ,45.8% were over
30 years. All nurses lacked knowledge related to epidemiology only 40.2% of the
nurses under study had sufficient knowledge regarding epidemiology before exposure
to the program. The percentage increased to 88.9% after the administration of the
program. Also the majority of nurses had adequately prepared on hand washing
techniques on the post test with a statistical significant difference of <O.OI .As for
nurses' knowledge of the occupational hazards to which they may be exposed during
work in MCH centers, the majority of nurses mentioned needle stick, followed by the
amount of blood splattering from the patient on their hands, patient sneezing or
coughing and touching patient skin. Nurses play an important role in (MCH) centers
to minimize and prevent infection through providing the nurses with adequate and
appropriate supplies which include protective clothes and equipment in health care
settings. Conclusion; low frequency of correct answer was observed among nurses in
the pre test, the prevalence of correct answer was increased in the post test related to
knowledge and practice. Recommendations; periodic refresher courses should be
provided in order to keep nurses up dating knowledge and practice regarding to
infection control.