In the realm of public health, the role of Infection Prevention (IPC) safety culture in shaping healthcare workers’ interactions can not be overstated. It is now well established that a robust IPC safety culture can play a critical role in optimizing the compliance of healthcare workers (HCWs) with pertinent IPC measures. However, despite its significance, there has been limited research illuminating the direct impact of IPC safety culture on compliance. As such, the need for a comprehensive understanding is imperative.
A study was undertaken to assess this influence by distributing an online questionnaire to HCWs across more than 200 healthcare institutions, including 12 tertiary hospitals, from March 27 to April 3, 2025. Of the 1,600 respondents who took part in the study, 1,471 responses were deemed valid, yielding a high response rate of approximately 92%. Respondents aged over 30 years, with more than 5 years of work experience and those with a Master’s degree or higher reported higher IPC safety culture scores compared to their counterparts. A similar pattern emerged in terms of adherence to IPC measures, with those having more experience, higher degrees, and clinical teaching qualifications showcasing superior compliance.
The data also showed strong correlation between basic IPC competence and IPC compliance across its various dimensions. Factors such as hospital management climate, departmental team cooperation, organizational learning and continual improvement, and the rate of reporting hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) bore weak to moderate correlation with IPC compliance. When comparing compliance based on a median score of 4.95, a majority of participants (57.10%) were classified as having good compliance, while the remaining 42.90% fell into the poor compliance category.
Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified several predictors of IPC compliance, including clinical instructor status, basic IPC competence, hospital management climate, frequency of HAI adverse events reporting, and organizational learning and continuous improvement.
In conclusion, this examination has shed new light on the significant influence of IPC safety culture on healthcare workers’ adherence to IPC measures. It underscores the need for bolstering basic IPC competence, enhancing hospital management support, promoting organizational learning and reporting practices, and designing targeted interventions for clinical instructors; these actions are key in driving up compliance and subsequently reducing the prevalence of HAIs.
This research, which carries the potential to fuel impactful strategies in public health, was conducted under the aegis of Frontiers in Public Health and is due to be published in the near future. The corresponding author for this article is Guanwen Lin.
Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1668493/full