Adherence to infection prevention and control measures among healthcare workers serving in COVID-19 treatment centers in Punjab, Pakistan

Mustafa, Zia Ul and Majeed, Hafiza Kiran and Latif, Shaiza and Salman, Muhammad and Hayat, Khezar and Mallhi, Tauqeer Hussain and Khan, Yusra Habib and Khan, Amer Hayat and Abubakar, Usman and Sultana, Kishwar and Godman, Brian (2023) Adherence to infection prevention and control measures among healthcare workers serving in COVID-19 treatment centers in Punjab, Pakistan. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 17 (3). e298. ISSN 1935-7893 (https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2022.252)

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Abstract

Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures are easily adoptable activities to prevent the spread of infection to patients as well as among health care workers (HCWs). This cross-sectional study evaluated the adherence to IPC measures among HCWs working at COVID-19 treatment centers in Punjab, Pakistan. HCWs were recruited via convenient sampling through Google form® using the World Health Organization risk assessment tool. All data were analyzed using SPSS 20. A total of 414 HCWs completed the survey (response rate=67.8%), and majority of them were males (56.3%). Most of the HCWs were nurses (39.6%) followed by medical doctors (27.3%). Around 53% reported insufficiency of personal protective equipment (PPE), 58.2% didn’t receive IPC training and 40.8% didn’t have functional IPC team at their health facilities. The majority of HCWs (90%) used disposable gloves and N95 facemasks while interacting with COVID-19 patients. Nearly 45% used protective face shields and gowns before providing care to their patients. Hand hygiene practices while touching, and performing any aseptic procedure was adopted by 70.5% and 74.1% of HCWs, respectively. In conclusion, the adherence to IPC measures among Pakistani HCWs working in COVID-19 treatment centers is good despite the limited availability of PPEs. Their practices can be optimized by establishing institutional IPC teams, periodic provision of IPC training and necessary PPE.

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