Environmental Health Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Shah Alam, Malaysia.
Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Front Public Health. 2022 Jul 18;10:878396. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.878396. eCollection 2022.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of contracting coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in their workplace. Infection prevention guidelines and standard operating procedures were introduced to reduce risk of exposure and prevent transmission. Safe practices during interaction with patients with COVID-19 are crucial for infection prevention and control (IPC). This study aimed to assess HCWs' compliance to IPC and to determine its association with sociodemographic and organizational factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and April 2021 at public healthcare facilities in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. HCWs who were involved with COVID-19-related works were invited to participate in the online survey. The questionnaire was adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) Interim Guidance: WHO Risk Assessment and Management of Exposure of Healthcare Workers in the Context of COVID-19. Respondents were categorized as compliant or non-compliant to IPC. A total of 600 HCWs involved in COVID-19-related works participated in the survey. Most of them (63.7%) were compliant to IPC as they responded to all items as "always, as recommended" during interaction with patients with COVID-19. The multivariate analysis showed that non-compliance was significantly associated with working in the emergency department (AOR = 3.16; 95% CI = 1.07-9.31), working as laboratory personnel (AOR = 15.13; 95% CI = 1.36-168.44), health attendant (AOR = 4.42; 95% CI = 1.74-11.24), and others (AOR = 3.63; 95% CI = 1.1-12.01), as well as work experience of more than 10 years (AOR = 4.71; 95% CI = 1.28-17.27). The odds of non-compliance among respondents without adequate new norms and personal protective equipment training were 2.02 (95% CI = 1.08-3.81) more than those with adequate training. Although most of the respondents complied to IPC protocols, compliance status differed according to department, work category, and years of service. Ensuring adequate training that will hopefully lead to behavioral change is crucial to prevent breach in IPC and thus minimize the risk of exposure to and transmission of COVID-19 in healthcare facilities.
医护人员（HCWs）在工作场所感染 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的风险很高。为了降低暴露风险并防止传播，引入了感染预防指南和标准操作程序。与 COVID-19 患者互动时采取安全措施对于感染预防和控制（IPC）至关重要。本研究旨在评估 HCWs 对 IPC 的遵守情况，并确定其与社会人口学和组织因素的关联。 2021 年 3 月至 4 月，在马来西亚半岛东海岸的公共医疗机构进行了一项横断面研究。邀请参与 COVID-19 相关工作的 HCWs 参加在线调查。问卷改编自世界卫生组织（WHO）的临时指南：在 COVID-19 背景下，世卫组织对医护人员接触风险的评估和管理。受访者被归类为符合或不符合 IPC。共有 600 名参与 COVID-19 相关工作的 HCWs 参加了调查。他们中的大多数（63.7％）符合 IPC 标准，因为他们在与 COVID-19 患者互动时对所有项目的回答均为“始终，如建议”。多变量分析表明，不符合规定与在急诊科工作（AOR = 3.16；95％CI = 1.07-9.31），实验室人员工作（AOR = 15.13；95％CI = 1.36-168.44），健康护理人员（AOR = 4.42；95％CI = 1.74-11.24）和其他人员（AOR = 3.63；95％CI = 1.1-12.01）以及工作经验超过 10 年（AOR = 4.71；95％CI = 1.28-17.27）有关。没有接受足够的新规范和个人防护设备培训的受访者的不合规几率比接受足够培训的受访者高 2.02 倍（95％CI = 1.08-3.81）。尽管大多数受访者符合 IPC 协议，但根据部门，工作类别和服务年限，遵守情况有所不同。确保进行足够的培训，希望这将导致行为改变，对于防止违反 IPC 并最大程度地降低医疗机构中 COVID-19 的暴露和传播风险至关重要。
