Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Infection Control Measures Among HealthCare Workers at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) in Riyadh, KSA

Background: Infections acquired in healthcare facilities have become an increasingly challenging issue worldwide. The prevention of infectious diseases is a critical issue since healthcare workers develop acquired infections while providing services to patients. However, infection prevention and control are challenging, especially in healthcare facilities. Thus, this study aimed to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare workers in King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH). Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at KKESH, total of 285 healthcare workers, including physicians, nurses, optometrists, radiographers, and ophthalmic assistants were investigated. A close-ended, self-administered questionnaire was used to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward infection control prevention measures. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 20. Chi-squared was computed to identify associations between factors within the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of infection prevention.Results: The study showed that 81% of respondents had good knowledge, 82% had a positive attitude, and only 59% had safe infection prevention practices. Doctors were more knowledgeable than other staff, and nurses showed a high level of positive attitude and safe practices. There was a statistically significant correlation between age, occupation, education, and years of experience with infection prevention practices among healthcare providers (P<0.05). The availability of infection prevention guidelines was associated with excellent knowledge, a positive attitude, and safe practices.Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that most healthcare workers had adequate knowledge and displayed a positive attitude, but practices toward infection control were not sufficient. Therefore, regular training, that contain educational programs, should be supported to maintain the highest level of practice.

Peningkatan Peran Dewan Kemakmuran Masjid sebagai Fungsi Edukasi dalam Pelaksanaan Kurban di Tengah Pandemi Covid-19

The situation of sacrificial day in 1441 H was different from the previous years because it will be held during Covid-19 pandemic situation. The pandemic started in the beginning of 2020 and were not over until the day of sacrifice on July 31, 2020. The government has issued a policy for the day of sacrifices during Covid-19 pandemic situation. Nevertheless, there were still remain problems in the community about the security aspects and the potential spread out of covid-19. This community service activity aims to maximize the role ‘Dewan Kemakmuran Masjid’ (DKM) in conducting education, socialization, and controlling government policies related to the implementation of sacrificial day during pandemic situation. The activity consists of evaluation of the readiness for sacrificial day implementation, preparation of sacrificial education media during the pandemic, and examples of good practices carried out by DKM An-Nashir Mosque, Cihideung Udik Village, Ciampea, Bogor. As many as 40 respondents from various groups and regions in Indonesia participated in an online evaluation to assess their readiness for sacrificial day. The average point was 7.05 that means people were still poorly prepared while DKM group gets 8.25±1.28 which means it is ready. This shows that DKM was able to educate and serve the community in the implementation of sacrifices during Covid-19 pandemic situation. In addition, in this activity also distributed a link containing material and digital sacrificial pocket books that can be downloaded for free so as to help education on the sacrifice implementation with good and safe practices.

The safe handling of chemotherapy drugs in low- and middle-income countries: An overview of practices

Introduction The rising burden of cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has led to substantial efforts to improve access to chemotherapy. The present study’s objectives were to obtain an overview of the safe handling practices implemented in LMICs’ healthcare facilities when dealing with chemotherapy drugs and to prioritize opportunities for improving them. Methods We conducted an online survey, from June 2018 to April 2019, among LMIC healthcare facilities dealing with chemotherapy drugs. Facilities were asked to self-assess their chemotherapy handling processes using Cyto-SAT, a self-assessment tool incorporating 134 items organized into 10 domains (management, personnel, logistics, prescription, preparation, administration, incident management, waste management, cleaning, and patient counselling). Data were recorded on an online platform ( www.datapharma.ch/cyto-SAT ). Results The survey enrolled 53 healthcare facilities (15 from low-income, 26 from lower-middle-income, and 12 from upper-middle-income countries). The median level of implementation of safe practices was 63% (Q1:39%–Q3:77%). Facilities in low-income countries (LICs) reported lower median levels of safe practices than middle-income countries (MICs) [LICs: 32% (Q1:24%–Q3:62%), Lower-MICs: 63% (Q1:49%–Q3:70%), Upper-MICs: 85% (Q1:77%–Q3:93%)]. The biggest differences between country categories were observed in the domains related to personnel, preparation processes, and incident management. Conclusion This overview of practices highlighted a large variability and major gaps in the safe handling of chemotherapy drugs in LMICs. Improvement strategies are needed to increase patient and staff safety and limit environmental contamination, especially in LICs. Safe handling programs should be part of continuing efforts to improve access to quality cancer drugs and should be integrated into national cancer control programs.

Impact of California Safe Patient Handling Legislation: Health Care Workers’ Perspectives

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries from patient handling are significant problems among health care workers. In California, legislation requiring hospitals to implement safe patient handling (SPH) programs was enacted in 2011. This qualitative study explored workers’ experiences and perceptions about the law, their hospital’s SPH policies and programs, patient handling practices, and work environment. Methods: Three focus groups were conducted with 21 participants (19 nurses and 2 patient handling specialists) recruited from 12 hospitals located in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley. Qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis. Results: Multiple themes emerged from diverse experiences and perceptions. Positive perceptions included empowerment to advocate for safety, increased awareness of SPH policies and programs, increased provision of patient handling equipment and training, increased lift use, and improvement in safety culture. Perceived concerns included continuing barriers to safe practices and lift use such as difficulty securing assistance, limited availability of lift teams, understaffing, limited nursing employee input in the safety committee, blaming of individuals for injury, increased workload, and continuing injury concerns. Participants indicated the need for effective training, sufficient staffing, and management support for injured workers. Conclusions/Application to Practice: This study identified improvements in hospitals’ SPH programs and practices since the passage of California’s SPH law, as well as continuing challenges and barriers to safe practices and injury prevention. The findings provide useful information to understanding the positive impacts of the SPH law but also notes the potential limitations of this legislation in the view of health care workers.

The critical role of infection prevention overlooked in Ethiopia, only one-half of health-care workers had safe practice: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Effective infection prevention and control measures, such as proper hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment, instrument processing, and safe injection practicein the healthcare facilitiesare essential elements of patient safety and lead to optimal patient outcomes. In Ethiopia, findings regarding infection prevention practices among healthcare workers have been highly variable and uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis estimates the pooled prevalence of safe infection prevention practices and summarizesthe associated factors among healthcare workers in Ethiopia. Methods PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and the Cochran library were systematically searched. We included all observational studies reporting the prevalence of safe infection prevention practices among healthcare workers in Ethiopia. Two authors independently extracted all necessary data using a standardized data extraction format. Qualitative and quantitative analyseswere employed. The Cochran Q test statistics and I2 tests were used to assess the heterogeneity of the studies. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of safe infection prevention practice. Results Of the 187 articles identified through our search, 10 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of safe infection prevention practice in Ethiopia was 52.2% (95%CI: 40.9–63.4). The highest prevalence of safe practice was observed in Addis Ababa (capital city) 66.2% (95%CI: 60.6–71.8), followed by Amhara region 54.6% (95%CI: 51.1–58.1), and then Oromia region 48.5% (95%CI: 24.2–72.8), and the least safe practices were reported from South Nation Nationalities and People (SNNP) and Tigray regions with a pooled prevalence of 39.4% (95%CI: 13.9–64.8). In our qualitative syntheses, the odds of safe infection prevention practice were higher among healthcare workers who had good knowledge and a positive attitude towards infection prevention. Also, healthcare workers working in facilities with continuous running water supply, having infection prevention guideline, and those received training were significantly associated withhigher odds of safe infection prevention practice. Conclusions Infection prevention practices in Ethiopia was poor, with only half of the healthcare workers reporting safe practices. Further, the study found out that there were regional and professional variations in the prevalence of safe infection prevention practices. Therefore, the need to step-up efforts to intensify the current national infection prevention and patient safety initiative as key policy direction is strongly recommended, along with more attempts to increase healthcare worker’s adherence towards infection prevention guidelines.