State of infection prevention knowledge among healthcare professionals in Japan: a questionnaire survey analysis using text mining

Background

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are an important issue that needs to be addressed continuously in healthcare institutions Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are expected to strengthen educational programmes on infection prevention. Although the incidence of HAIs in Japan has been decreasing, the actual state of knowledge on infection prevention among HCPs remains unclear.

Aim

To clarify the actual infection prevention knowledge of HCPs in Japan.

Methods

The study participants were 1158 HCPs working in healthcare institutions with frequent contact with patients (283 doctors, 591 nurses, 115 physical therapists, 97 radiologists and 72 medical technologists). HCPs described the infection prevention behaviours they adhered to consciously via an online self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed by text mining. Categories were extracted from the responses to reveal HCPs' infection prevention knowledge.

Findings

More than half of the participants (64.9%) were aged >40 years, and 48.1% had >20 years of clinical experience. The majority of the participants were nurses (51.0%), 43.9% had a bachelor's degree, and 56.6% were female. Seven categories regarding infection prevention knowledge were extracted: ‘performing hand hygiene and gargling’, ‘wearing personal protective equipment’, ‘strengthening one's immunity’, ‘protecting oneself and patients from infection’, ‘distinguishing clean and unclean zones’, ‘actions to prevent transmission to others in daily life activities’ and ‘maintaining distance from others’.

Conclusion

These results suggest that most HCPs working in healthcare settings in Japan prioritize and adhere to standard precautionary measures, and the low incidence of HAIs may be influenced by perceptions of the knowledge of ‘handwashing and gargling’ among HCPs.