AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF POST OPERATIVE SURGICAL SITE INFECTION IN PATIENT

Abstract

Background: Understanding surgical site infections (SSIs) can help lower SSI-related hospital stays, morbidity, and death. Objective(s): This study aimed to determine the knowledge and awareness of SSI among patients undergoing surgeries Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used in this study to evaluate its goals. After the Departmental Research Committee gave its clearance, data were gathered from the chosen research setting during a four-month period. The study used a non-random convenience sampling approach to enroll 125 people in total. Results: The research had 125 individuals in total. The majority were between the ages of 18 and 34 (41.3%), followed by those between the ages of 35 and 44 (27.0%) and 45 and 64 (24.6%). Only 6.3% were older than 65. Age, gender, marital status, educational status, employment status, region, type of surgery, length of hospital stay, prior admission, number of admissions, or history of SSI did not show any statistically significant associations with awareness level, according to an analysis of participant characteristics (all p > 0.05). These results show that knowledge of SSI was typically comparable among various clinical and demographic categories. On the other hand, the examination of knowledge level revealed that the only factor that was substantially linked to knowledge was age (p = 0.032). While older individuals tended to have lower levels of knowledge, those between the ages of 18 and 34 showed the largest proportion of good knowledge. Gender, marital status, education, work status, area, kind of operation, length of hospital stay, prior admission, number of admissions, and history of SSI did not significantly correlate with knowledge level (all p > 0.05). Conclusion(s): It is concluded that knowledge varies by age, but general awareness of SSI is stable across patient groups. Therefore, consistent preoperative and postoperative teaching programs should be implemented for all surgical patients by healthcare professionals, with a special focus on older persons who might need more focused education to increase their understanding of surgical site infection prevention.