Over the past few years, the global crisis faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic underlines the absolute necessity for robust infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, particularly among healthcare workers (HCWs). In regions such as Somalia, where there is a dearth of HCWs compared to the established Sustainable Development Goals, the protection and education of these professionals prove to be crucial.
With these facts in mind, a study was conducted revolving around the compliance of HCWs with IPC practices, specifically focused on those working in De Martino Public Hospital, Somalia. The study was executed over a three-month period, from August to October 2022, involving 204 participants. The parameters included in the questionnaire were based on a five-point Likert-type scale, involving questions crafted based on WHO’s risk assessment tool.
The study revealed that 58.3% of the caregivers indicated good compliance with IPC. However, a significant difference was observed relating to the type of healthcare worker and their compliance rate. Doctors and doctors assistants exhibited a compliance rate of 72.3%, followed by nurses and paramedical staff at 67.3%. On the contrary, non-clinical staff demonstrated a significantly lower compliance rate of 5.7%.
Profession, COVID-19 training, direct care of COVID-19 patients, and presence during aerosol-generating procedures were identified as key factors affecting overall IPC compliance. In all, while general compliance rates were observed to be above the 50% mark, the study concluded that prioritization of awareness campaigns and behavior change interventions, particularly among non-clinical staff, are paramount for considerable improvements in COVID-19 IPC measures within a hospital setting.
Source: https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-024-09819-7