Compliance with universal standard precautions among health care workers of medical and surgical wards of Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar
Keywords:
Health Care Quality; Quality Assurance; Health Care; Safety Management; Quality of Health Care; Infection ControlAbstract
Introduction: Health Care Professionals (HCPs) are not well versed in standard precautions and their use is not widely practiced even though its use is crucial in protection against blood borne infections such as HIV.
Objective: To assess the level of compliance and factors associated with non-compliance with the use of Standard Precautions in General Medicine and General Surgery wards of Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan.
Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative study conducted in General Medicine and General Surgery wards of Rehman Medical Institute, Peshawar, KP, Pakistan. A total of 80 subjects (40 from each ward) took part in the study. They included Doctors, Nurses and housekeeping staff. A structured questionnaire was completed by the individuals taking part in the study. Data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 for descriptive statistics; Chi Square test was used to compare the differences of frequencies between groups, keeping p≤0.05 as significant.
Results: There was no significant difference of compliance regarding the use of gloves (68.4% in General Medicine, 64.9% in General Surgery p=0.550), surgical masks (50% General Medicine, 56.4% General Surgery p= 0.172), eye protection (16.7% in General Medicine, 15% in General Surgery p=0.945), gown (40.6% in General Medicine, 44.8% General Surgery p=0.250) among the wards being considered in the study. No noteworthy difference was seen between proper sterilization of equipment and proper disposal of waste items between the two wards. Significant difference was noted between the two wards regarding the compliance to WHO recommended handwashing technique (52.6% General Medicine, 79.5% General Surgery ward; p=0.047) and routine disinfection of the ward (35% General Medicine, 66.7% in General Surgery; p=0.08).
Conclusion: Low level of compliance was found with standard healthcare precautionary measures in General Medicine and General Surgery wards of a tertiary care hospital of Peshawar, KP, Pakistan.
