Impact of a training intervention on knowledge and practices of health-care workers about reprocessing reusable medical devices in a South-Tunisian University Hospital.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Reprocessing of reusable medical devices (RMD) play an important role in the prevention of health-care associated infections. In this perspective, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of a training program intervention on health-care workers’ (HCWs) knowledge and hospital practices about the reprocessing of RMD as a main strategic axis of infection control. Method: We led a pre-post quasi-experimental study to evaluate knowledge of HCWs and to assess hospital practices in reprocessing RMD before and after a training intervention from May to November 2020 in Hedi Chaker University Hospital. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed for each participant to assess knowledge. To evaluate practical skills, an audit grid was used. Results: Overall, 30 participants were included. All HCWs had a fair level of knowledge before training. The knowledge score(KS) has significantly risen from pre to post-training (64/100 vs 80/100; p As for practice assessment, 5(62.5%) departments had a fair level of practice. The conformity score(CS) did not significantly change from baseline to post-follow-up(53.5 vs 56.2; p=0.06). According to the audit sections, we did not find a significant change in the pre- and post-intervention CS in sterilization process(70 vs 80; p=0.06) and in the cleaning and decontamination steps(66.7 vs 67 ; p=0.18). Conclusion: As opposed to practical skills, positive impact of the training intervention on HCWs knowledge was noted, which underlined the gap between theory and practice.