Formalin: do the professionals who use it know it? Study about the information nurses have about formalin

Abstract

The methods of sterilization are considerably important in the decrease of the ocurrence of hospital infection, therefore they must be well know and their effectiveness must be proved. The chemical method of sterilization using formalin is controversial. The objective of this paper is to analize how much the nurses of a School Hospital in Porto Alegre know about formalin and why it is still being used. It has been concluded that are discrepancies between what the staff that was studied knows about formalin and bibliografy. It hes been also concluded that, in spite of having little knowledge about the method, the staff that was studied gave many reasons for using it.