An assessment of awareness of and compliance with universal safety precautions by health centre nurses

Abstract

Universal precautions (UPs) are the basic tool, adopted worldwide, intended to minimize or prevent exposure to blood or body fluids. Literature shows that these precautions, although simple to practice, are often ignored with compliance rates varying between 34% and 79%. A preceding local study done at Saint Luke's Hospital has shown compliance to be 37.5%. This study aims at analysing the awareness of and compliance with the universal precautions by nurses practicing in the Malta and Gozo health centres and to evaluate the reasons for good or low compliance. A second objective is to find out whether adequate protective equipment and medical software needed for compliance is available at all times. The study also intends to propose methods and tools for improving compliance with the UPs policy if such is found to be low. A cross sectional study, making use of a self report postal questionnaire was adopted to survey all the nurses (N=168) working in the Malta and Gozo Primary Care setting. This study showed that the majority (92%) of nurses are aware of the need to comply with UPs but only 31% of the respondents stated that they 'always' comply with them. Another important finding is that software, needed by nurses to comply with the UPs, is not regularly supplied (P= <0.001) by the health center management. Management is defined as the art and science of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the organization's resources, being human, physical, informational and financial, in order to achieve the organizational goals effectively and efficiently. With 69% of the respondents being non-compliant with the UPs, it is the prime duty of the management to supply resources needed for compliance. They also have to control that the staff under their responsibility are performing according to organizational and international standards, as well as according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This will help to practice in line with the law and to promote quality assurance.