Knowledge and attitudes of health care workers towards infection control: a review of worldwide experience
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/bmbr.2706-6290.2023.1.13387Keywords:
health care-associated infections, blood-borne infection, infection control, knowledge of health care workers, attitudeAbstract
Summary. Given the potential negative impact of blood-borne infections on healthcare workers and the significant burden on health care systems and national economies, it is important to identify factors that contribute to infection in order to offer effective suggestions for infection prevention and improvement of healthcare workers' quality of life.
The aim of the study – to find out the level of knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers towards infection control, as well as potential factors contributing to infection control, based on global experience by analyzing available information and literature sources.
Materials and Methods. An information search on the Internet was carried out on the Google Scholar, MEDLINE/PubMed and Index Medicus platforms for the last ten years. The English terms "infection control knowledge", "attitudes of healthcare workers toward infection control" and "potential factors contributing to infection control" were used for the search. After screening and reading the full texts, taking into account the quality of the studies, 28 articles were selected for analysis.
Results. Studies have shown that knowledge about infection prevention among healthcare workers is insufficient. This gap needs to be filled with reliable empirical evidence. Studies confirm that important factors in the spread of infections in health care facilities are the careless and ignorant attitude of the medical staff and the lack of proper infection control measures. It is appropriate to implement the latest innovative engineering solutions in medical facilities, as they improve the safety of patients and medical professionals. Adherence to infection control measures should be a priority in the field of health care. Healthcare workers must have a high level of awareness and proper adherence to precautions when working with medical sharps. The need for future studies with more effective intervention and non-intervention designs to examine this issue is demonstrated.
Conclusions. This study found a significant association between medical staff knowledge and attitudes regarding the infection prevention measures and increased risk and prevalence of blood-borne infections. At the same time, it was established that preventive measures affect the staff's compliance with safety techniques during needle injections. Analysis of the available data showed significant differences in the compliance of medical personnel depending on the available experience, knowledge, and attitude towards needlestick safety precautions. It is assumed that technical changes, improvement of control measures will be sufficiently effective to prevent the spread of infections.
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