Table 3.

Differences in adherence to standard precautions by socio-demographics and work-related characteristics of participants. N = 329.

Variables	Category	Mean ± SD	t or F	p
Age (years)	22–25	10.13 ± 4.36	1.626	0.198
	26–30	10.54 ± 4.39
	≥31	11.22 ± 4.38
Marital status	Married/Partnered	10.86 ± 4.48	−0.388	0.698
	Single	10.65 ± 4.36
Educational level *	College (three years)	11.08 ± 4.11	5.301	0.357
	University (four years)	10.52 ± 4.31
	Graduate school	11.43 ± 5.29
Total years in practice	<5	10.44 ± 4.30	0.369	0.775
	5–9	10.88 ± 4.62
	10–14	11.00 ± 4.27
	≥15	11.00 ± 4.80
Years in practice in current job	<5	10.57 ± 4.41	0.261	0.771
	5–9	10.88 ± 4.39
	≥10	11.00 ± 4.38
Current position	Nurse	10.64 ± 4.36	−0.584	0.559
	Charge nurse	11.02 ± 4.56
Area of practice	Medical ward	10.71 ± 4.59	1.489	0.205
	Surgical ward	10.16 ± 4.71
	Intensive care unit	10.89 ± 3.90
	Emergency department	9.45 ± 4.31
	Others	11.68 ± 4.02
Total number of nurses † (including nursing assistants)	<20 a	12.19 ± 4.47	3.256	0.040
	20–39 b	10.35 ± 4.31	a > b
	40–60 c	10.90 ± 4.44
Nurse-to-patient ratio †	<5 a	10.83 ± 4.03	2.693	0.046
	5–9 b	11.69 ± 4.52	b > d
	10–14 c	10.82 ± 4.21
	≥15 d	9.65 ± 4.69
Working hours per week (including overtimes)	<40	10.66 ± 4.52	0.060	0.942
	40–47	10.82 ± 4.20
	≥48	10.63 ± 4.55
Prior experience in patient safety education	Yes	10.76 ± 4.41	1.415	0.158
	No	8.67 ± 3.43
Prior experience in infection control education	Yes	10.72 ± 4.42	0.459	0.646
	No	10.00 ± 3.03

* H value of Kruskal-Wallis; † significant difference between groups in Bonferroni post hoc test; SD, standard deviation.