Adherence to Infection Precautions Among Healthcare Personnel Varies by Job Role and Could be Enhanced by a Socio-Technical Systems Approach
By Kelly M . Pyrek
study published late last year based
A on a survey of healthcare personnel conducted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic , suggests that renewed efforts to strengthen infection prevention precautions are needed to protect those at the highest risk of exposure to pathogens . The research adds to the healthcare sector ’ s understanding of staff compliance with infection prevention protocols during a crisis and highlights improvement opportunities with which infection preventionists ( IPs ) can assist , experts say .
The study authors say they believe their work is the first study of pandemic-era infection precautions to include a broad variety of healthcare positions within the hospital setting . Studies have been performed to understand how healthcare professionals ’
I anticipated that perceived stress related to COVID-19 to have been much more prevalent than it was and to play a greater role in the results .”
— Emily J . Haas , PhD compliance with precaution guidelines held up during the pandemic , but until now most of those studies have focused on physicians and nurses exclusively . This new study expands on that body of research by including other members of the healthcare profession who experienced exposure risk , including respiratory , physical , and speech therapists ; food services ; environmental services ; and clinical dieticians .
To conduct this study , researchers from the University of North Carolina Medical
Center partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC )’ s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ( NIOSH ).
“ One of the things that we were interested in on the NIOSH side was examining the role and experiences of those in the group of allied healthcare professionals ,” explains lead author Emily J . Haas , PhD , a research health scientist at NIOSH and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory . “ We ’ ve conducted a significant
18 • www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com • january 2024