Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Infection Prevention and Control Nurses in Public Hospitals in the Limpopo Province: A Qualitative Study

A crucial aspect of delivering healthcare is infection prevention and control (IPC), especially in public hospitals where the high volume of patients and limited resources can heighten the risk of healthcare-associated infections. This qualitative study explores IPC nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practices in public hospitals within the Limpopo province of South Africa. The study adopted a qualitative descriptive design. This qualitative study utilized self-developed validated semi-structured interviews with IPC nurses from 12 public hospitals (4 tertiary, 4 regional, and 4 district). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis to identify key themes related to knowledge, attitudes, and practices in IPC. Each interview lasted approximately 15 to 20 min. Themes and subthemes that emerged provided a structured overview of the key aspects discussed. Each theme captures a different facet of the experiences, perceptions, and challenges faced by IPC nurses in their role. The subthemes further break down these views into specific areas of focus, offering deeper insights into the nurses' experiences of their professional responsibilities. This study shows that, although IPC nurses have a good understanding of infection control and a positive attitude toward it, systemic problems and resource constraints make it difficult to consistently implement optimal practices. Affective mood, opportunity cost, coherence of the intervention, burden, perceived efficacy, self-efficacy, and ethics are among the major themes that were found. To improve IPC efforts, there is a clear need for more focused training, resources, and managerial support.