Compliance with standard precautions of infection control in the management of labour by healthcare workers at Mulago National Referral Hospital

Abstract

Background: Infections acquired during labour are the leading cause of maternal mortality globally. Compliance with Standard Precautions of Infection Control (SPIC) on the side of healthcare workers is crucial in preventing infection transmission during labour. However, lack of training on SPIC in the management of labour and work overload may be associated with non-compliance with SPIC the management of labour. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine compliance with standard precautions of infection control and associated factors in the management of labour and child birth by healthcare workers in Mulago Hospital to generate information, which may be, used in infection control and prevention practices. Methodology: A cross-sectional study utilizing a quantitative approach was conducted among 115 healthcare workers. Consecutive sampling was done to include respondents in the study. Data were collected by direct observation and researcher administered questionnaires. Data was coded and entered into the computer using SPSS version 20 with programmed quality control checks. Descriptive data analyses, frequencies, cross tabulations and logistic regression analysis were the major statistical methods used. Results: Data from103 healthcare workers who were involved in the study were analysed. , 74% were females. Overall compliance was at 52%, although it varied across domains. The majority of the healthcare workers (95.1%) did not comply with hand hygiene. Being a male was associated with low compliance scores across most domains. One of the hospital factors which was significantly associated with compliance to hand hygiene was having had an in-service training with p =0.008 and p=0.012 at multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Overall compliance to standard precautions of infection control was low compared to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation. The findings in this study provide insight into individual and hospital related factors associated with compliance with standard precautions of infection control in the management of labour. There is an urgent need to put up interventions to improve on compliance with SPIC in management of labour among all healthcare workers.