We would accept that any survey of this kind can only reflect the knowledge of those within the population which was sampled at the time the sample was taken. Indeed, it is very likely that awareness of Clostridium difficile is greater now than it was then. Nevertheless, it does give some insight into the understanding of these issues within different groups of healthcare workers.
No precise definition of ‘adequate’ levels of knowledge has been attempted. It would be a separate study to compare ‘knowledge’ with ‘practice’ (which is what really matters) to define the minimum level of knowledge for the delivery of good practice.