CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Infection control is an aspect of healthcare delivery that deals with the curtailment of the spread of infection within the healthcare set-up, be it from patient-to-patient, patient-to-staff, staff-to-patients or staff to staff. According to World Health Organisation (WHO, 2011) the components of infection prevention and control are as follows: organisation, technical guidelines, human resources, surveillance, microbiology laboratory support, environment, evaluation and links with public health and other services. Organisation involves setting up a programme, formation of the infection control committee and inter-professional team, which should include physicians, nurses, microbiologists, epidemiologists, infection control specialists, information specialists and others. The committee must have a good working relationship with one another, because their work entails collaboration with other departments, staff and programmes. Technical guidelines involve developing, disseminating and implementing technical evidence-based information in preventing the risks of infection. Human resources involve training and re-training of health care personnel in preventing infections and the training of infection control professionals. It guarantees a pool of adequate staff responsible for infection prevention and control activities.
Surveillance is the tracking of demonstrated or suspected spread of infection. It involves the collection of data on epidemic and detection of outbreaks as well as the assessment of level of compliance with infection control practices, response to outbreaks and documentation of the situation of healthcare associated infection. Surveillance is important in that it causes early detection, identification, isolation and intervention, and results in effective infection prevention. Microbiology laboratory supports generate data, standardised laboratory techniques and promotes interaction between infection control activities. The environment refers to the minimum requirements for infection control. It includes water, ventilation, hand-hygiene equipment, placement of patient as well as isolation facilities, sterile supply storage, building conditions and renovation activities. Evaluation has to do with monitoring, assessment and report of infection prevention and control outcomes, processing and strategizing at national level and in healthcare facilities. It mirrors the impact of the infection control programmes. Links with public health and other services ensures proper coordination and collaboration between staff and departments in the events of mandatory reporting and activities such as waste management and sanitation, bio-safety, occupational health, patients and consumer’s care and the quality of health care (Hebden, 2015; Stempliuk & Eremin, 2015; WHO, 2011).
There are various sources of infections. Healthcare associated infections (HAI) are infections that develop in the course of healthcare and results in aggravating illnesses and may lead to deaths, extends the duration of hospital stay, and calls for more interventions at an added cost to the one already expended by the patient’s initial disease. Its occurrence is an indicator of the quality of patient care, adverse event and an issue of patient safety. The sources includes adverse drug events, surgical complications, microorganism isolates, antimicrobial resistance, decreasing trends in intensive care units, exogenous microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoan from other patients, endogenous flora of the patients- residual bacteria residing on the patient’s skin, mucous membrane, gastro intestinal tract, respiratory tract, inanimate environmental surfaces, contaminated objects, patient room touch, surfaces, equipment, medication, individual patient, medical equipment, devices, hospital environment, contaminated drugs and foods and hospital flora in the healthcare environment. Other sources include doctors’ white coats, nurses’ uniform, hospital garments, privacy drapes, stethoscopes, bed rails, common hospital surfaces, contaminated water, compromised immune system, negligence or poor attitude of hospital staff, hands of health care workers. It could be from patient to patient, patient to environment, staff to patient, renovation works in the hospital (Hans, 2012; Stubblefield, 2014; WHO, 2011).
Healthcare workers generally are at risk of infection, because they constantly come into contact with infected materials such as tissues, fluid, blood and blood products. There are several infection control measures aimed at controlling the spread of infectious diseases, such as hepatitis B and C, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other life threatening infections. Moreover, the hospital waste itself is a potential source of infection hence the need for proper infection control measures. It has been found that healthcare workers do not adhere strictly to the various infection control measures, probably because they do not recognise such, or they lack adequate knowledge, or could be due to poor attitude towards infection control measures, including non-availability of materials and equipment (Amoran & Onwube, 2013).In a study conducted at the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Gombe, in North Eastern Nigeria among nurses, it was found that some respondents were not aware that standard precautions is applied to all patients, and majority of the respondents have poor knowledge of the components of standard precautions (Saidu, Habu, Kever, Dathini, Inuwa, Maigari et al, 2015).
Standard precautions are infection control measures that are put forward by the United States Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (CDC), in 1996. By complying with standard precautions, a lot of infections can be avoided, such as occupational exposure to pathogens. While some health workers are familiar with the infection control measures, some are not. This may be due to lack of awareness or knowledge and moreover, the attitude that some who are familiar with the infection control measures, show towards practice is not encouraging. When one considers the importance of adequate knowledge and practice of infection control measures, by the healthcare workers, one cannot but think of what to do to improve on that knowledge and practice. Jain, Dogra, Mishra, Thakur and Loomba (2012), in their study among doctors and nurses in a tertiary care hospital, found that there is lack of knowledge and practice regarding basic infection control measures. This deficit in knowledge can be improved through educational intervention. Wasswa, Nalwadda, Buregyoya, Gitta, Anguzu and Nuwama (2015), in their study on implementation of infection control in health facilities in Uganda, found that with prior training on infection control, the respondents were more likely to wash their hands. Level of education and a prior nosocomial infection experience will have a role in the practice of infection control measures. In-service training on infection control measures will boost the practice of infection control measures.
Amoran and Onwube (2013) found that inadequate workers’ knowledge on infection control and environment related problems are crucial issues that need urgent attention. According to Gebresilassie, Kumei, and Yemane (2014) in their study, “there is suboptimal and inconsistent practice of standard precautions in the healthcare setting that put patients and healthcare workers at significant risk of acquiring infections”. They also emphasized the need for in-service training for the healthcare workers on infection control. Adly, Amin and Abd El-aziz, (2014) found that intervention influenced the compliance of nurses with infection control measures, because of the knowledge gained during the intervention or training programme. There is a standard of infection control measures that can guarantee infection safety among health workers and patients.