Kontakt X:X | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2026.042

Gaps between knowledge and practice in operating room environmental cleaning and disinfection: a cross-sectional studyNursing - Original article

Thiago Aristides Lima Ragazzi ORCID...¹, Adriely de Abreu Varoto ORCID...¹, Alvaro Francisco Lopes de Sousa ORCID...^{2, 3}, Luciane Ribeiro ORCID...¹, Fábio da Costa Carbogim ORCID...¹, Patrícia Guedes Garcia ORCID...⁴, Adriana Cristina de Oliveira ORCID...⁵, André Luiz Silva Alvim ORCID...^{1, *}

¹ Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, School of Nursing, Department of Applied Nursing, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

² Campus Três Lagoas, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Três Lagoas, MS, Brazil

³ Public Health Research Centre, Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), REAL, NOVA University Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

⁴ Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Juiz de Fora, Brazil

⁵ Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, School of Nursing, Department of Basic Nursing, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Background: Environmental cleaning and disinfection in operating rooms are essential to prevent healthcare-associated infections. However, gaps between professional knowledge and actual practice may compromise patient safety.

Aims: To evaluate healthcare professionals' knowledge of surface cleaning and disinfection in operating rooms and its association with process effectiveness.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two surgical centers of a university hospital in southeastern Brazil. Seventy-one professionals completed a structured questionnaire assessing knowledge. Process effectiveness was evaluated on 1,560 high-touch surfaces using visual inspection and fluorescent markers. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, chi-square tests, and item response theory.

Results: Nurses achieved the highest mean knowledge scores, while physicians showed lower performance. Significant differences were observed among professional categories, particularly regarding concurrent and terminal cleaning. Visual inspection indicated moderate conformity, whereas fluorescent markers revealed higher failure rates (63.5%). Surface type was strongly associated with cleaning outcomes (p < 0.001). Item response analysis demonstrated high discrimination for key conceptual items.

Conclusion: Relevant discrepancies were identified between knowledge and practice in operating room environmental cleaning.

Keywords: Disinfection; Health personnel; Infection control; Knowledge; Operating rooms

Conflicts of interest:

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Received: March 10, 2026; Revised: May 21, 2026; Accepted: June 29, 2026; Prepublished online: July 2, 2026