Infection prevention knowledge and practice among health care workers in Primary Health Care centers of Erbil city

Background and objective: Infection prevention is the practice of making barriers between susceptible microorganisms and hosts and is crucial for the supply of quality health services and safety at the level of facility. This study aimed to determine the knowledge on infection prevention and practices among health care workers working in primary health care centers in Erbil city. Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out in 20 primary health care centers in Erbil city from 5th September 2023 to 4th October 2024. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit the sample of (291) health care workers. An electronic questionnaire form (Google form) used for data collection. SPSS version 25 was used for data entry and analysis. P value ≤ 0.05 was regarded as a statistically significant. Results: A total of 291 health care staffs attended the selected primary health centers were involved in this study. About 35% of the participants were in the age group 41-50 years old. Most of health care workers 173 (59.5%) were females and 118 (40.5%) were males. More than one third (36.1%) of them joined in infection prevention and control training and majority (78%) of them has medium level of knowledge. A statistically significant highest percentage (82.4%) of nurses had medium knowledge about infection prevention control in comparison to other professions (Physicians, Biologist/chemist and radiologist (74.8%), (66.7%) and (80.0%) respectively, P value <0.001. Conclusion: The knowledge about infection prevention and control among health care workers was medium. Nurses are more knowledgeable compare to other professions.