Objective.

To analyze the effectiveness of an educational intervention among nursing professionals and caregivers to prevent urinary tract infections in institutionalized elderly people.

Methods.

this is a quasi-experimental study carried out with 20 people (7 nurses and 13 formal caregivers). A questionnaire was applied during the pre-intervention stage, then professional training was carried out and finally, the questionnaire was reapplied 6 months after the intervention. The prevalence profile and factors associated with urinary infections in 116 elderly people was evaluated before and after the educational interventions. Statistical analysis was performed using association and correlation tests, logistic regression model comparison and prevalence rates.

Results.

The average number of correct answers by the nursing professionals and caregivers after the educational intervention increased from the pre to the post-test by 52% regarding signs of urinary infection, 32% regarding its symptoms, 72.5% regarding its treatment, 40% regarding personal/behavioral and morbidity-related risk factors, 59% regarding conditional factors and 43.8% regarding its preventive measures. The team of caregivers showed a greater gain in knowledge compared to the nursing team in almost every question (p<0.05). The length of time working in elderly care showed no positive correlation with any variable (R<1; p>0.05). The prevalence of urinary tract infection in the pre-intervention period was 33.62%, and 20% in the post-intervention period.

Conclusion.

The educational intervention was effective in preventing urinary tract infections in the elderly. The increased knowledge acquired by nurses and caregivers was associated with a reduction in the infection rate and an improvement in the most prevalent modifiable factors for the development of this type of pathology.

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