The Factors Related to the behavior of Disease Prevention in Hospital for Nurse in Suddhavej Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mahasarakham University.

Abstract

This descriptive research aimed to examine factors associated with nosocomial infection prevention behaviors among nurses at Suddhavej Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Mahasarakham University. The sample comprised 90 nurses, selected through simple random sampling, with data collected between July and September 2025. The research instruments consisted of questionnaires on bio-social factors, knowledge of infection prevention, health beliefs, social support, and infection prevention behaviors. The reliability of the knowledge questionnaire, assessed using the Kuder–Richardson formula 20 (KR-20), was 0.73, while the reliability of the health belief, social support, and infection prevention behavior questionnaires, assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, was 0.83, 0.89, and 0.86, respectively. As the data were not normally distributed, descriptive statistics and Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient were used for the analysis.

Results showed that health beliefs (perceived barriers and health motivation) were significantly and positively correlated with infection prevention behaviors, though at a low level (r_s = 0.282 and 0.242, p < .05, respectively). Social support factors (emotional, informational, and material support) were also significantly and positively correlated with infection prevention behaviors at a low level (r_s = 0.212, 0.226, and 0.227, p < .05, respectively). Knowledge of infection prevention and length of nursing experience showed no significant correlation with infection prevention behaviors. These findings suggest that strategies to strengthen health motivation and social support particularly emotional, informational, and material support could effectively promote infection prevention behaviors among nurses.