Influence of on-the-job Training on the Healthcare Associated Infections Prevention Among Nurses in Selected Federal Teaching Hospitals in Southwest, Nigeria | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Influence of on-the-job Training on the Healthcare Associated Infections Prevention Among Nurses in Selected Federal Teaching Hospitals in Southwest, Nigeria JANET F OGUNDARE, SOLOMON O ADEWOYE, OLANIYI OPASOLA, BABATUNDE ADIAMA This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8995796/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Implementing IPC measures is contingent upon health-care workers receiving adequate training and demonstrating competence to reduce Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This study examined the influence of on-the-job training (OJT) on HAI prevention among nurses in selected federal teaching hospitals in Southwest Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 344 nurses using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, simple linear regression, ANOVA, and chi-square tests were employed for data analysis, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results revealed that 82.8% of the respondents were female, and 60.2% possessed a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree. About 60.2% of nurses demonstrated good on-the-job training status. A significant negative correlation existed between OJT scores and HAI incidence (r = − 0.302, p < 0.001), indicating that higher-quality training was associated with fewer HAIs. Regression analysis confirmed that training significantly predicted HAI scores (β = − 0.061, p < 0.001), explaining 9.1% of the variance, while mixed linear modeling demonstrated that training remained a strong determinant of lower HAI scores even after adjusting for gender, education, and experience. The study concludes that structured, continuous, and competency-based OJT significantly enhances nurses’ capacity to prevent HAIs. It is recommended that healthcare policymakers institutionalize periodic, practical, and evidence-based OJT programs and establish mentorship frameworks that support consistent skill transfer and compliance with IPC standards across Nigerian teaching hospitals. On-the-job training Healthcare-associated infections Infection prevention Nurses Southwest Nigeria Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SUPPLEMENTARYFILEI.docx SUPPLEMENTARYFILEII.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 06 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 06 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 28 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8995796","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":619025353,"identity":"b6502b2a-7caa-4fe0-a339-1349b60e3712","order_by":0,"name":"JANET F OGUNDARE","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABOUlEQVRIie2QMWuDQBTHnwjJkjh72DZfQTmwFMR8FUVwki6F4hCoIpilNGv7LSwdSjeDYBfbrBa7SNYMlpZiFukZLAnN2blQf3DccY/f/d87gI6OPwjjbM8iWQoAyzZ34S9KuFVMonw/06Ls1mol2kluUdjp03xZgKIGmXf7btsL/b7PuHk5gSMu1Xr5B6Wxy1NDDME0gtf4DCVJpj94jIcHMWCUan18QJvFkvkQIkNMLRG5fqYHEeML0AM9ICkCT1Fmq+OyUfDarZ5rZbouK7hoVa4tmcwZqUSRkeuEmxQY+qCJREEFTVlhPgFTQ6l5fuLEBiaKJwyveOkmyUmH+0gzSypsUMZcaty9OBP1MFhE87fyUxlxj0aMSori1FEV6M6PAr/5G3awr4yafUzpoJYoKR0dHR3/ji/+OHKLIRrTqgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Ilesa, Ilesa, Nigeria","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"JANET","middleName":"F","lastName":"OGUNDARE","suffix":""},{"id":619025354,"identity":"e38f7878-b2cb-44ee-a2ee-0a513814e21c","order_by":1,"name":"SOLOMON O ADEWOYE","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ladoke Akintola University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"SOLOMON","middleName":"O","lastName":"ADEWOYE","suffix":""},{"id":619025355,"identity":"82df54f8-60cc-4ba3-a507-c909ac294b31","order_by":2,"name":"OLANIYI OPASOLA","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kwara State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"OLANIYI","middleName":"","lastName":"OPASOLA","suffix":""},{"id":619025356,"identity":"7b071304-4411-4103-9d26-52cb5b986880","order_by":3,"name":"BABATUNDE ADIAMA","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kwara State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"BABATUNDE","middleName":"","lastName":"ADIAMA","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-28 13:53:15","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8995796/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8995796/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106724139,"identity":"30a3a069-2c32-4477-bfdc-c16bee66a92a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:26:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":664564,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onthejobtrainingmanuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8995796/v1_covered_51182826-79d4-491e-b0b5-20d28f3971da.pdf"},{"id":106430303,"identity":"d00e7405-1d45-4acd-bb27-04d5fa6f0506","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 12:58:26","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":36605,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SUPPLEMENTARYFILEI.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8995796/v1/353639f330294d37af8fde92.docx"},{"id":106430144,"identity":"cd94a5c6-bd4e-419f-9e9c-7dd96168d66d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 12:58:22","extension":"docx","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":17630,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SUPPLEMENTARYFILEII.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8995796/v1/ce29930027c486229a27515d.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eInfluence of on-the-job Training on the Healthcare Associated Infections Prevention Among Nurses in Selected Federal Teaching Hospitals in Southwest, Nigeria\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"On-the-job training, Healthcare-associated infections, Infection prevention, Nurses, Southwest Nigeria","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8995796/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8995796/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eImplementing IPC measures is contingent upon health-care workers receiving adequate training and demonstrating competence to reduce Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This study examined the influence of on-the-job training (OJT) on HAI prevention among nurses in selected federal teaching hospitals in Southwest Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 344 nurses using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, simple linear regression, ANOVA, and chi-square tests were employed for data analysis, with significance set at p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05. Results revealed that 82.8% of the respondents were female, and 60.2% possessed a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree. About 60.2% of nurses demonstrated good on-the-job training status. A significant negative correlation existed between OJT scores and HAI incidence (r = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.302, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), indicating that higher-quality training was associated with fewer HAIs. Regression analysis confirmed that training significantly predicted HAI scores (β = \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.061, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), explaining 9.1% of the variance, while mixed linear modeling demonstrated that training remained a strong determinant of lower HAI scores even after adjusting for gender, education, and experience. The study concludes that structured, continuous, and competency-based OJT significantly enhances nurses\u0026rsquo; capacity to prevent HAIs. It is recommended that healthcare policymakers institutionalize periodic, practical, and evidence-based OJT programs and establish mentorship frameworks that support consistent skill transfer and compliance with IPC standards across Nigerian teaching hospitals.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Influence of on-the-job Training on the Healthcare Associated Infections Prevention Among Nurses in Selected Federal Teaching Hospitals in Southwest, Nigeria","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-08 12:57:50","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8995796/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T11:21:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"69451909616338514188990451516404448169","date":"2026-04-13T14:15:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"28088684205282597277627068841593508986","date":"2026-04-06T10:19:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-02T11:29:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-06T11:38:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-06T09:13:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-06T09:11:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Nursing","date":"2026-02-28T13:49:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"19e05149-a902-446e-84cd-5b505ef1aa22","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 8th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-08T12:57:50+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-08 12:57:50","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8995796","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8995796","identity":"rs-8995796","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}
Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below.
Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure
cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can
have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy
(via DOI)
is the canonical version.