Infection Prevention and Control during COVID-19 Pandemic: Realities from Healthcare Workers in a North Central State in Nigeria

Healthcare workers have good perception towards infection prevention, but there has been a poor practice towards it. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore barriers to practice of infection prevention and control practice in teaching hospitals in Amhara region. A phenomenological approach used to explore the lived experience of healthcare workers and management staffs towards infection prevention practice and control. The data was collected from ten in-depth interviews and 23 focus group discussion participants, by face to face interview using open ended interview performed in safe and quiet places. Data was managed using OpenCode software version 4.03 and contents were analyzed thematically. Totally ten different barriers were identified, such as availability of facilities, shortage of material supply, lack of maintenance of facilities and equipment, high patient flow, experience, emergency situation, healthcare worker behaviour and healthcare worker’s information about infection prevention, low awareness of patients and visitors and overflow of families and visitors to the hospital. For effective infection prevention practice implementation, barriers should be considered via identifying specific organizational, healthcare worker, patients and visitors as targets.

Download Full-text

Improving knowledge, attitudes and practice to prevent COVID-19 transmission in healthcare workers and the public in Thailand

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10768-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rapeephan R. Maude ◽

Monnaphat Jongdeepaisal ◽

Sumawadee Skuntaniyom ◽

Thanomvong Muntajit ◽

Stuart D. Blacksell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Public ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Control Measures ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

The Public ◽

Educational Videos ◽

Prevention And Control Measures ◽

And Control

Abstract Background Key infection prevention and control measures to limit transmission of COVID-19 include social distancing, hand hygiene, use of facemasks and personal protective equipment. However, these have limited or no impact if not applied correctly through lack of knowledge, inappropriate attitude or incorrect practice. In order to maximise the impact of infection prevention and control measures on COVID-19 spread, we undertook a study to assess and improve knowledge, attitudes and practice among 119 healthcare workers and 100 general public in Thailand. The study setting was two inpatient hospitals providing COVID-19 testing and treatment. Detailed information on knowledge, attitudes and practice among the general public and healthcare workers regarding COVID-19 transmission and its prevention were obtained from a combination of questionnaires and observations. Results Knowledge of the main transmission routes, commonest symptoms and recommended prevention methods was mostly very high (> 80%) in both groups. There was lower awareness of aerosols, food and drink and pets as sources of transmission; of the correct duration for handwashing; recommended distance for social/physical distancing; and about recommended types of face coverings. Information sources most used and most trusted were the workplace, work colleagues, health workers and television. The results were used to produce a set of targeted educational videos which addressed many of these gaps with subsequent improvements on retesting in a number of areas. This included improvements in handwashing practice with an increase in the number of areas correctly washed in 65.5% of the public, and 57.9% of healthcare workers. The videos were then further optimized with feedback from participants followed by another round of retesting. Conclusions Detailed information on gaps in knowledge, attitudes and practice among the general public and healthcare workers regarding COVID-19 transmission and its prevention were obtained from a combination of questionnaires and observations. This was used to produce targeted educational videos which addressed these gaps with subsequent improvements on retesting. The resulting videos were then disseminated as a resource to aid in efforts to fight COVID-19 in Thailand and worldwide.

Download Full-text

Healthcare Workers' Challenges in the Implementation of Tuberculosis Infection Prevention and Control Measures in Mozambique

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0114364 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. e114364 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Miranda Brouwer ◽

Eliana Coelho ◽

Carla das Dores Mosse ◽

Luciana Brondi ◽

Laura Winterton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Control Measures ◽

Tuberculosis Infection ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Prevention And Control Measures ◽

And Control

Download Full-text

Impact of Infection Prevention and Control Education Program on Improving Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the Healthcare Staff in Hemodialysis Unit at Egyptian Tertiary Care Facility

Asian Journal of Medicine and Health ◽

10.9734/ajmah/2019/v14i430109 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Marwa Ahmed Abdelwahab ◽

Eman Abdel Raheem Labah ◽

Laila Mahmoud Sayed ◽

Mohamed Mokhtar Elbedwey ◽

Heba Mohamed Gabr

Keyword(s):

Infection Control ◽

Education Program ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Phase Iii ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Hemodialysis Unit ◽

Control Education ◽

And Control

Objective: Infection is a leading cause of hospitalization and the second most common cause of mortality among hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of infection prevention and control education program on improving healthcare workers knowledge, attitude and practices and reducing incidence of infection in the hemodialysis unit. Methodology: All patients and healthcare workers in the unit within the study period were included. This study was conducted through 3 phases; Phase I: base line survey for assessment of infection prevention and control knowledge, attitude and practices among healthcare workers, Phase II: Intervention that included infection control standardized education program followed by post education survey. Phase III: Implementation of infection control program was done associated with assessment of blood born viruses (HCV, HBV & HIV) and monitoring patients for fever and/or local signs of inflammation at catheter exit or at skin around shunt to be subjected to blood culture. Results: Health care workers knowledge, attitude and practices of infection prevention and control before intervention were unsatisfactory followed by significant improvement reflecting the effectiveness of such interventions. Regarding incidence of infection there were three cases of blood stream infections; two of them were multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) and no reported cases of seroconverion for HIV, HCV or HBV during study period. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge about infection prevention and control practices in hemodialysis unit could be significantly improved by standardized education program which results in reducing incidence of infections in such units.

Download Full-text

Covid-19 pandemic: chronicle of responses and experiences of the infection prevention and control committee at a tertiary hospital in southwest Nigeria

African Health Sciences ◽

10.4314/ahs.v21i3.17 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 1093-1099

Author(s):

Akinwumi Ayodeji Akinbodewa ◽

Michael Simidele Odimayo ◽

Olorunfemi Akinbode Ogundele ◽

Tosin Oluwapelumi Ogunleye ◽

Olanrewaju Olayinka Johnson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Healthcare Management ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Healthcare Personnel ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

And Control

Since the advent of 2019-Corona virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria in February 2020, the number of confirmed cases has risen astronomically to over 61,307 cases within 8 months with more than 812 healthcare workers infected and some recorded deaths within their ranks. Infection prevention and control is a key component in ensuring safety of healthcare workers in the hospital as health- care-associated infection is one of the most common complications of healthcare management. Unbridled transmission of infection can lead to shortage of healthcare personnel, reduced system efficiency, increased morbidity and mortality among patients and in some instances, total collapse of healthcare delivery services. The Infection Prevention and Control Committee is a recognised group by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention with their core programmes including drawing up activities, procedures and policies designed to achieve above-stated objectives before, during and after any disease outbreak, especially emerging and re-emerging ones such as the 2019 Coronavirus Disease. In this report, we highlight the roles played by the Infection Prevention and Control Committee of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within and outside the hospital community and the lessons learned to date. Keywords: COVID-19; infection prevention; infection control; Nigeria.

Download Full-text

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of healthcare workers Towards Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

Journal of Nepal Health Research Council ◽

10.33314/jnhrc.v18i2.2658 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 293-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Prabina Ghimire ◽

Samriddh Dhungel ◽

Anil Pokhrel

Keyword(s):

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Online Survey ◽

Health Concern ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Attitude And Practice ◽

And Control ◽

Knowledge Attitude And Practice

Background: The emergence of SARS-CoV 2 pandemic is the greatest public health concern of the century. Healthcare workers are the front liners of pandemic management. Their knowledge, attitudes and practices can influence the outcome of pandemic. The study aims to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices among healthcare workers.Methods: Knowledge, attitude and practice related questionnaire based online survey through Google forms was conducted from Healthcare workers, following ethical approval from NHRC (ERB protocol registration number: 297/2020 P). Online forms were disseminated via Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Viber and personal messaging. Responses containing anonymized data was collected analyzed in using SPSS-version 26, (Year: 2019). The results were interpreted in terms of percentage response, knowledge score, and practice and discussed on the possible solutions in improving the infection prevention and control practice.Results: 473 HCWs responded to the questionnaire, out of which 426 responses met inclusion criteria which is 90% of the total responses. The mean score for knowledge was 3.20 + 1.15 out of maximum seven; with 45.7% correct answers. 70.4 % (300) participants felt that Nepal will be unable to contain the pandemic, 64 % of the total employed participants felt that there was inadequate institutional preparedness to protect HCWs from exposure. 91% participants reported practicing hand hygiene after every patient encounter; whereas 31.7% (77) and 22.1% (59) participants did not know how to check sealing of the N95 masks and use personal protective equipment’s respectively.Conclusions: The survey findings showed deficiencies in knowledge and appropriate practice among the HCWs, in prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Attitudes towards COVID19 were a mix of both positive and negative viewpoints. Even in health care workers with access to internet, there is significant gap in universal infection prevention and control practices required for self-protection and limiting untoward transmission. Keywords: Attitude and practice; COVID-19; healthcare workers; infection prevention and control; knowledge, Nepal; SARS CoV 2

Download Full-text

Knowledge and practice of infection prevention and control among healthcare workers: a COVID-19 pandemic experience

Anaesthesia, Pain & Intensive Care ◽

10.35975/apic.v24i6.1408 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 596-602

Author(s):

Rifat Yasmin ◽

Huma Hussain ◽

Syeda Turab Fatima Abidi ◽

Syed Asim Ali Shah ◽

Tazaeen Hina Kazmi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Close Contact ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

P Value ◽

Corona Virus ◽

Knowledge And Practice ◽

And Control

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global outbreak caused by novel SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Study aims to evaluate knowledge and practices of healthcare workers (HCW) regarding infection prevention and control of corona virus disease Material and methods: A cross sectional validation study was conducted. Study was conducted at department of Medicine, Pakistan Ordinance Factory Hospital, Wah Cantt. Study duration was 2 months (May 2020-June2020)A sample size of 217 HCW was calculated using WHO calculator. HCW were selected through non probability sampling (consecutive). Ethical permission was taken and research consent was signed by each participant. SPSS version 24 was used for analysis purpose. Post stratification fissure exact and chi-square test was applied. We found p value ≤0.05 as statistically significant. Results: Total 217 HCW were included in our study. Out of them, 85 (39.2%) were male and 132 (60.8%) were female in our study. Mean age of HCW was 34.5±2.4SD. In knowledge assessment majority of HCW had fair knowledge (46.5%), followed by good (30%) and poor knowledge (23.5%) regarding corona virus associated infection control and prevention. In practice assessment, among all those, 38.2% HCW showed better practices while 61.8% showed poor practices. Knowledge is significantly associated with virus transmission mode (p = 0.00), close contact (p = 0.000), protection from COVID-19 in triage area (p = 0.000), wearing PPE (p = 0.000) etc. Conclusion: Corona virus disease is a major challenge in resource limited countries. Healthcare workers showed relatively improved knowledge and practices regarding infection prevention and control in this COVID-19 Pandemic. Key words: Corona virus disease, Healthcare workers, Infection Prevention and Control, Knowledge, Practices Citation: Yasmin R, Hussain H, Abidi STF, Shah SAA, Kazmi TH, Hussain H. Knowledge and practice of infection prevention and control among healthcare workers: a COVID-19 pandemic experience. Anaesth pain intensive care 2020;24 (6):597-602 Received: 8 November 2020, Reviewed: 17 November 2020, Accepted: 19 November 2020

Download Full-text

Adoption of infection prevention and control practices by healthcare workers in Québec: A qualitative study

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2019.269 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (12) ◽

pp. 1361-1366

Author(s):

Eve Dubé ◽

Armelle Lorcy ◽

Nathalie Audy ◽

Nadia Desmarais ◽

Patrice Savard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Medical Laboratory ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Clinical Practices ◽

Good Communication ◽

Qualitative Research Design ◽

And Control

AbstractObjective:To describe barriers and facilitators to the adoption of recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) practices among healthcare workers (HCWs).Methods:A qualitative research design was used. Individual semistructured interviews with HCWs and observations of clinical practices were conducted from February to May 2018 in 8 care units of 2 large tertiary-care hospitals in Montreal (Québec, Canada).Results:We interviewed 13 managers, 4 nurses, 2 physicians, 3 housekeepers, and 2 medical laboratory technologists. We conducted 7 observations by following IPC nurses (n = 3), nurses (n = 2), or patient attendants (n = 2) in their work routines. Barriers to IPC adoption were related to the context of care, workplace environment issues, and communication issues. The main facilitator of the IPC adoption by HCWs was the “development of an IPC culture or safety culture.” The “IPC culture” relied upon leadership support by managers committed to IPC, shared belief in the importance of IPC measures to limit healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), collaboration and good communication among staff, as well as proactivity and ownership of IPC measures (ie, development of local solutions to reduce HAIs and “working together” toward common goals).Conclusions:Adoption of recommended IPC measures by HCWs is strongly influenced by the “IPC culture.” The IPC culture was not uniform within hospital and differences in IPC culture were identified between care units.

Download Full-text