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Abstract
Background: Healthcare facilities are important environments for the transmission of infectious diseases because patients, healthcare workers, attendants, and visitors interact within a shared environment. Inadequate infection prevention and control practices can facilitate the transmission of healthcare-associated infections and increase occupational risks to healthcare workers. Hand hygiene, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, environmental disinfection, sterilization, isolation precautions, and safe disposal of infectious waste are essential components of infection prevention and control.
Objective: To assess infection control practices among healthcare staff working at a tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare staff at Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, from January 1 to March 31, 2020. A total of 200 healthcare staff were recruited using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire assessing hand hygiene, use of non-sterile gloves, personal protective equipment, cleaning of clinical equipment, occupational exposure to body fluids, needle-stick injuries, patient masking, infectious waste disposal, and perceptions of hospital infection-control practices. Data was entered into SPSS version 23 and analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Review Committee of Sarhad University, and written informed consent was obtained from participants.
Results: Among the 200 respondents, 70 (35%) were aged 30–34 years. Laboratory technicians and dressers each constituted 60 (30%) of the sample. Regarding hand hygiene, 100 (50%) reported washing their hands with running water and bar soap, while 40 (20%) used liquid handwash, 40 (20%) used skin disinfectant, and 20 (10%) used alcohol hand rub. Half of the respondents reported hand hygiene before invasive procedures. Twenty-five percent reported not using non-sterile gloves in any of the specified situations. Eighty percent of respondents had experienced splashes of blood, vomit, or other body fluids, while 169 (84.5%) reported previous needle-stick injury. Following exposure to contaminated body fluids, 50 (25%) reported was washing the site with water, 70 (35%) with soap, and 80 (40%) reported scrubbing the contaminated area. For infectious waste disposal, 120 (60%) selected the red bag and 20 (10%) reported having no knowledge of the appropriate disposal method. Although 160 (80%) respondents perceived the hospital's infection-control practices as good, several individual infection-control practices remained suboptimal.
Conclusion: Important gaps were identified in infection prevention and control practices among healthcare staff, particularly regarding hand hygiene, PPE use, occupational exposure management, and infectious waste disposal. Continuous training, practical skill-based education, regular monitoring, and institutional enforcement of infection-control protocols are recommended.