Knowledge and practice of hospital cleaners towards infection prevention control and associated factors at Jimma medical center, Jimma, southwest Ethiopia

Background Hospital-associated infections are continued to be a worldwide problem. In Ethiopia, there is a limited study on cleaners' knowledge, practices, and factors hindering good infection prevention control practices. Objective to assess the knowledge and practice of hospital cleaners towards infection prevention control and its associated factors at Jimma Medical Center,Jimma, Ethiopia, 2024. Methodology A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted from Maya to June, 2024. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was employed to collect data from 422 hospital cleaners. Simple random sampling technique was used as sampling method. The data were entered into EPI Data version 4.6 was used for data entry and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 25 was used for data analysis. Variables with p-values < 0.25 were candidates for multivariable logistic regression. A significant level was declared at a p-value < 0.05 at Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) on multivariable logistic regression. Result About 268 (63.5%) of the study participants had good knowledge towards infection prevention and control whereas 164 (30.9%) of the study participants had good practices towards infection prevention and control. Age 26–30 years [AOR = 9.104 (4.139–20.025)], age > 31years [AOR: 2.330, 95% CI (1.325–4.097)], working experience of 5–10 [AOR: 2.606, (1.313–5.175)], no perceived stigma [AOR =: 4.089 [1.792–9.330)] and availability of guideline [AOR = 5.115, 95% CI (2.694–9.711)] were factors significantly associated with cleaners’ knowledge. Training [AOR: 7.048, 95% CI (4.088–12.154)], no perceived stigma [AOR = 4.917, 95% CI (1.857–13.015)] and regular safety supervision [AOR = 4.272, 95% CI (2.198–8.305)] were identified significantly associated factors with cleaners’ practice towards infection prevention and control. Conclusion less than two-thirds of study participants had good knowledge and nearly two-fifths had good practice of infection prevention and control respectively. Age, working experience, perceived stigma and presence of guidelines linked to infection prevention knowledge whereas training, perceived stigma and regular safety supervision were associated with practice. Enhancing ongoing training and availing infection prevention guidelines can improve cleaner’s knowledge and practice towards infection prevention and control.