Compliance with Standard Precautions Among Hospital Nurses in Ozamiz City, Philippines

Abstract

Ozamiz City is the center for health and people from nearby places choose to access its health services because of the available amenities for life-threatening conditions. With the increasing incidence of infectious diseases, compliance of nurses with standard precautions (SP) is necessary to control healthcare-associated infections. This study determined the compliance with SP of 100 nurses in two tertiary hospitals in Ozamiz City using a structured questionnaire that passed the Cronbach's alpha reliability test. The study utilized the Kruskal-Wallis H test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Pearson's correlation statistical models. Findings revealed a very high compliance among nurses in 82.6% of the SP. Older and male nurses assigned to pedia ward with more years of work experience and attended SP training exhibited better compliance to SP. Nurses who experienced needlestick injury, not exposed to patient's body fluids, and vaccinated with the hepatitis B virus also showed better compliance. The difference in compliance among nurses when grouped by profile was not statistically significant (p<0.05). The correlation between knowledge and compliance was not also significant. The findings could help the administrators identify areas for improvement in nosocomial infection control in hospitals in this part of Mindanao. Research design and instrumentThe study used the descriptive-inferential research design. The survey was conducted in Ozamiz City utilizing a questionnaire modified from the instrument developed by Luo et al. (2010). Integration of the compliance activity on handling injured skin, discarding sharps boxes, handling used linens, and transporting laboratory specimens was one of the modifications. Included also in the questionnaire is an item on the knowledge of nurses on the single use of syringes.The questionnaire consists of three parts. Part I gathered the profile of the respondents regarding age, gender, the area of assignment, years of work experience, and SP training. This section of the questionnaire also obtained data regarding needlestick injury of nurses, their exposure to patient's body fluids, and hepatitis B vaccination. Part II with 23 items investigated the respondent's compliance. This portion of the questionnaire used the five-point scale: 0 = never, 1 = seldom, 2 = sometimes, 3 = usually, and 4 = always. The Cronbach's alpha value of 0.78 suggests that the items are reliable. The weighted mean was calculated for each item and interpreted using the following scales: 3.20-4.00 (Very high compliance); 2.40-3.19 (High compliance); 1.60-2.39 (Moderate compliance); 0.80-1.59 (Low compliance); 0.00-0.79 (Very low compliance).Part III of the questionnaire consists of 25 items that assessed the respondent's knowledge about SP. The respondents chose 'yes' or 'no' for their answer. A value of 1 was given for the 'yes' answer and 0 for the 'no' answer. The value of 0.79 from Cronbach's alpha test suggests the reliability of the items. The mean rank determines the compliance of nurses when they are grouped...

Nursing staff compliance and adherence to standard precautions during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional study

“…To the best of my knowledge, studies on the compliance and adherence of nurses to SPs in the Philippines remain underreported. Compliance of nurses to SPs was reported for a single‐site hospital outside Metro Manila (De Vera & Nero, 2020 ; Pasay et al, 2015 ), and in a qualitative inquiry on the facilitators and barriers to infection control among nurses, physicians, and clinical pharmacists (Mitchell et al, 2017 ). However, these studies were conducted before the COVID‐19 pandemic.…”

Extent Of Compliance To Standard Precautions Among Healthcare Workers In Accredited Birthing Facilities In San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines

“…The statistical calculation on the test of significant relationship using the Pearson r correlation coefficient revealed that work experience and compliance to SP are statistically related. This finding is supported by Pasay (2017), who found that nurses with more years of work experience had higher compliance compared to the least experienced. Similarly, this is also consistent with the finding of Fayaz, et al (2014).…”

“…It only means that our health workers in birthing facilities are knowledgeable about the safety precautions and they are practicing it. Pasay, et al (2015) conducted the same study among hospital nurses and they yielded the same results. The respondents showed high compliance to standard precautions.Another study of Chan et al, 2002 about the Nurse's knowledge of and compliance with universal precaution in an acute care hospital in Hongkong revealed that a high compliance was reported regarding hand-washing, disposal of needles and glove usage.…”

“…This can be due to the fact that younger health professionals are more retentive and more careful to details as compared with their older counterparts. However, this finding was refuted by Pasay, et al (2015) who claimed that there really is a significant relationship between the two variables but found that older nurses are more compliant with standard precautions.…”