A study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection examined adherence to the appropriate use of personal protective equipment by different types of healthcare workers.
Researchers conducted the observational study in 781-bed tertiary hospital from July 2016 to March 2017. They studied video of staff donning personal protective equipment and assessed adherence rates. They observed 1,097 opportunities for donning personal protective equipment, of which 880 opportunities were among nurses and nursing assistants.
The study shows the overall adherence rate to appropriate personal protective equipment use was 34 percent. The adherence rate among nurses and nursing assistants was lower (27.9 percent) as compared with infectious disease physicians (100 percent) and cleaning staff (85.7 percent).
Additionally, the adherence rate was 27.6 percent in the intensive care unit versus 36.5 percent in non-ICU wards; and the adherence rate for patients with an independent functional status was higher than for those with a dependent functional status.
"Adherence to contact precautions varied by occupation; however, overall adherence was insufficient. The lower adherence rate in nurses might be due to more frequent care visits," study authors concluded.