Compliance to Infection Prevention and Control Practices Among Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

Abstract

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.

RETRACTED: Safety climate, quality of care, adherence to and compliance with standard precautions among nurses: Structural equation modeling

“…However, nurses from some Asian countries adhere to and comply with SPs suboptimally. For instance, suboptimal compliance of nurses was reported in Hong Kong (46%; Wong et al, 2021), Malaysia (63.7%; Mohamad et al, 2022), the Philippines (78.2%; Berdida, 2023), and Singapore (76.68%; Lim et al, 2021), while poor adherence to SPs in South Korea (Kim & Lee, 2022). Similarly, a…”

“…However, nurses from some Asian countries adhere to and comply with SPs suboptimally. For instance, suboptimal compliance of nurses was reported in Hong Kong (46%; Wong et al., 2021), Malaysia (63.7%; Mohamad et al., 2022), the Philippines (78.2%; Berdida, 2023), and Singapore (76.68%; Lim et al., 2021), while poor adherence to SPs in South Korea (Kim & Lee, 2022). Similarly, a scoping review of 17 studies (McCauley et al., 2021) discovered that missed nursing care during infection prevention and control is the same as noncompliance with infection prevention and control guidelines.…”

Importance of Hospital Infection Control

“…To stop the spread of infectious organisms when caring for patients, healthcare personnel should wear proper PPE, such as gloves, gowns, masks, and eye protection [ 31 ]. PPE acts as a barrier between HCWs and potentially infectious materials [ 32 ]. Proper wear and disposal of PPE is essential to ensure safe practices.…”

Knowledge and Compliance on Infection Prevention and Control Among Healthcare Professionals in Teaching Hospital, Pahang Malaysia During Pandemic Covid-19: A Cross Sectional Study

“…Therefore, the reinforcement on infection prevention and control (IPC) in healthcare settings become the most critical defense mechanism against the virus. This is parallel with WHO initiative that emphasized on an active action and cooperation by the healthcare professionals (HCPs) to abide by the provided precautionary measure to end this pandemic (3).…”