Management of mattresses in the prevention of healthcare-associated infection: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) threatens patient safety and can be associated with contamination of surfaces such as mattresses. This study aimed to identify the criteria for the acquisition and conservation of mattresses in hospitals and Homes for the Aged (HA) as an infection prevention strategy. Outlining: Cross-sectional study carried out with 18 institutions. Data were collected through a structured interview with the person responsible for administration, hospitality sector or the Hospital Infection Control Committee, using a validated instrument. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Results: Five HA and 8 Hospitals partook the study. Acquisition by direct purchase prevails (94.4%), with a periodicity of 1 to 5 years (50%). All mattresses purchased are foam ones, due to user comfort (44.4%) and resistance (38.9%). Waterproof cover is used by 83% of the services, made of “napa” (72.2%) and “corvin” (66.7%) for easy sanitizing (77.8%). “During the concurrent cleaning” is the most mentioned time to evaluate the integrity of the mattress (38.8%) and coating (50%). Implications: it was observed that there is no systematic management for the acquisition and maintenance of mattresses. This highlights the need to improve the care with patient bed in order to prevent healthcare-associated infections.

Multimodal Educational Intervention for Adherence to Standard Precautions in the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Nursing Professionals: A Quasi-Experimental Study

“…Remarkably, about 94.9% of professionals demonstrated awareness of the importance of surface decontamination in hospital settings after the intervention, a notably high figure that distinguishes the findings of the current study from those of other similar studies, which reported lower prevalence rates (34,35). This success can be attributed to several factors that underscore the efficacy of the educational intervention, ranging from the clarity of the conveyed information to the emphasis on the practical significance of surface decontamination for patient safety.…”

Contamination of equipment and surfaces in the operating room anesthesia workspace: a cross-sectional study

“…This could lead to a variation in infection prevention practices, which increases the possibility of potential oversights that could compromise patient safety. 2,[4][5][17][18][19] Furthermore, the shortage of routine compliance audits exacerbates this issue. The potential for misguided practices increases owing to the lack of regular and rigorous evaluation of adherence to infection prevention measures.…”