The effect of clinical observations on nursing students' compliance with standard precautions: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Health care-associated infections pose a significant global challenge, highlighting the need for enhanced knowledge and practices among health care professionals. This study investigates the impact of clinical observations on nursing students' compliance with standard precautions.

Methods: Employing a cross-sectional descriptive design, the study surveyed 405 nursing students using a "Personal Information Form," the "Nurses' Observations on Infection Control and Prevention Questionnaire," the "Standard Precautions Scale," and the "Factors Affecting Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale."

Results: The mean scores for the Nurses' Observations on Infection Control and Prevention Questionnaire, the Standard Precautions Scale, and the Factors Affecting Compliance with Standard Precautions Scale were 33.39 ± 12.98, 10.93 ± 4.79, and 53.38 ± 10.35, respectively. A significant negative correlation was found between students' observations on infection control and their compliance with standard precautions (r = -0.254, P < .01), with their observations explaining only 6% of the variance in compliance.

Discussion: The findings suggest that the influence of nursing students' observations during clinical practice on their compliance to standard precautions is minimal.

Conclusions: This study highlights the necessity of developing more effective strategies to improve nursing students' compliance to standard precautions, extending beyond observational learning alone.