Tuberculosis infection control measures in healthcare facilities in Moyen-Ogooué Province, Gabon

Abstract

Background Healthcare workers (HCW) are at higher risk of tuberculosis (TB) than the general population. We assessed healthcare facilities for their TB infection control standards and priorities. Methods A standardised tool was applied. The assessment was conducted by direct observation, documents review and interviews with the facility heads. Results Twenty healthcare facilities were assessed; 17 dispensaries, an HIV-clinic, a private not-for-profit hospital and a public regional hospital. In both hospitals, outpatient departments, internal medicine wards, paediatric wards, emergency departments; and the MDR-TB unit of the public regional hospital were assessed. In Gabon, there are currently no national guidelines for TB infection control (TBIC) in healthcare settings. Consequently, none of the facilities had an infection control plan or TBIC focal point. In three departments of two facilities (2/20 facilities), TB patients and presumed TB cases were observed to be consistently provided with surgical masks. One structure reported to regularly test some of its personnel for TB. Consultation rooms were adequately ventilated in six primary care level facilities (6/17 dispensaries) and in none of the hospitals, due to the use of air conditioning. Adequate personal protective equipment was not provided regularly by the facilities and was only found to be supplied in the MDR-TB unit and one of the paediatric wards. Conclusions In Moyen-Ogooué province, implementation of TBIC in healthcare settings is generally low. Consequently, HCW are not sufficiently protected and therefore at risk for M. tuberculosis infection. There is an urgent need for national TBIC guidelines and training of health workers to safeguard implementation.

Exploring the Role of Healthcare Personnel in Designing Tuberculosis Infection Prevention and Control Measures in Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review

“…They explored factors influencing the behaviours toward adoption and compliance with TB-IPC measures in healthcare settings [12,13,15,27]. The other three crosssectional studies assessed the level of practice and the perceptions of HCP regarding the TB-IPC implementation and adherence at different levels of care in facilities [28][29][30], while the last three described the legal framework and the barriers to policy development and implementation [29,31,32]. A wide range of studies was included in this review, conforming to the scoping review methodology [33]; as there are many options for presenting data in scoping reviews, results are treated as one study in the findings (Table 2).…”

“…The aim of this study was to determine the levels of TBIC-related knowledge and practices of nurses in Ibadan, South-West Nigeria and their associated socio-demographic factors Cross-sectional study Anja et al 2021 [30] Gabon…”

Tuberculosis infection prevention and control in rural Papua New Guinea: an evaluation using the infection prevention and control assessment framework

“…A similar situation was observed in South Africa, where a shortage of PPE in healthcare facilities has seriously affected infection control plans. Additionally, the South African facilities did not provide PPE regularly, and it was supplied to specific departments such as the multi-drug resistant TB (MDR TB) unit [ 38 , 39 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance of IPC in health settings [ 5 ].…”

Exploring the role of healthcare personnel in designing Tuberculosis Infection Prevention and Control measures in healthcare settings: A scoping review

“…Healthcare personnel have always been in the frontline of the ght against TB, the importance of infection control measures has long been undervalued. In this crosssectional study, (Vigenschow, A. et al, 2021). sought to quantify the TB-IPC practices in different healthcare facilities in Gabon.…”