Compliance and barriers to the use of infection prevention and control measures among health care workers during COVID‐19 pandemic in Qatar: A national survey

Abed Alah, Muna; Abdeen, Sami; Selim, Nagah; Hamdani, Dhouha; Radwan, Eman; Sharaf, Nahla; Al‐Katheeri, Huda; Bougmiza, Iheb

AIM: To assess health care workers’ compliance with infection prevention and control measures in different health care sectors in Qatar during COVID‐19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: Being the first line of defense against COVID‐19 infection, health care workers are particularly at increased risk of getting infected. Compliance with infection prevention and control measures is essential for their safety and the safety of patients. METHODS: A web‐based national survey was conducted between November 2020 and January 2021 targeting all health care workers in governmental, semi‐governmental, and private health care sectors. RESULTS: Of 1757 health care workers, 49.9% were between 30‐39 years of age, majority (47.5%) were nurses. Participants reported a significant increase in the median self‐rated compliance scores during the pandemic compared to before it (p<0.001). During the pandemic, 49.7% of health care workers were fully compliant with personal protective equipment (PPE) use, 83.1% were fully compliant with hand hygiene. Overall, 44.1% were fully compliant with infection prevention and control measures (PPE and hand hygiene). Nationality, health sector, profession, and frequency of interactions with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 cases were significantly associated with compliance with overall infection prevention and control measures. The most reported barriers were work overload, and shortages of PPE and handwashing agents. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance of health care workers with infection prevention and control measures needs further improvement. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Frequent quality checks, provision of adequate supplies, and behavior change interventions are recommended strategies for hospital and nursing administrators to improve health care workers’ compliance.