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Abstract

Nosocomial infections are a serious problem in health care centers and dramatically increase the morbidity and mortality of patients and pose costs on patients and health care. One of the most common causes of these infections is medical and therapeutically interventions, therefore, the role of doctors and medical students in the prevention of nosocomial infections is of particular importance. This study was carried out to assess medical studentsâ�� knowledge and practice of nosocomial infection in hospitals affiliated to Tehran Medical Science Universities (Tehran, Iran and Shahid Beheshti Medical Science Universities). In this descriptive study, 150 medical students (externship period) were selected randomly from three universities. Data were collected by self-reported questionnaire including questions on awareness of nosocomial infection and prevention, demographic characteristics and practice. Data was analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive and analytical statistical methods and Pearson correlation. Results showed that the mean scores of knowledge and practice were 58.22�±13.66 (moderate) and 48.41�±5.62 (poor) respectively. Results showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between medical studentsâ�� knowledge and their practice (p=0.10).There was a significant relationship between knowledge and academic year (P=0.01) and practice and clinical unit (P=0.04). There was no significant difference between knowledge level with age, sex, marital status, history of needle steak, history of hospitalization and relativeâ��s hospitalization (p>0.05). The results showed that although the level of knowledge of medical students regarding to prevention of nosocomial infections is moderate but their practice is poor, therefore the practical training of students should be emphasized more than before.

Biography

Arash Heidari is a fourth year Medical Student of Medical School of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Email:heidaryarash@yahoo.com