Decontamination of patient equipment: nurses' self-reported decontamination practice in hospitals of southeast Ethiopia.

A total of 273 nurses participated in the study with a response rate of 98.9%. Of these respondents, the acceptable decontamination practice was found to be 49.1% [95% CI 43.2-54.9%]. Nurses who have reported good infection prevention practice were 7.313 times more likely to had acceptable decontamination practice than there counterpart [AOR = 7.313; 95% CI: 4.030, 13.272, p value = 0.000]. Nurses who were working in the department having instructive posters or guideline target on instrument processing were 2.675 times more likely to had acceptable decontamination practice [AOR = 2.675; 95% CI: 1.376, 5.200, p-value = 0.004]. This low decontamination practice among nurses is a concern and might make hospitalized patients prone to different pathogenic microorganisms, which in turn can increase the risk of healthcare-associated infections. Therefore, enhancing the current nurses' decontamination practice through considering those identified factors is crucial.