Standard Precautions among HealthCare Workers in a Tertiary Health Facility in Enugu Metropolis, South-East Nigeria

Abstract

Background The work environment of Health Care Workers (HCWs) can be described as a potential risk zone due to numerous hazards endemic to the environment. The hospital is not just only a place where the sick people recover from their illness, but also where the healthy get infected. Objectives To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of Standard Precautions (SP) among HCWs in a tertiary government health facility in Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional design that used mixed method approach. Qualitative data was collected using an in-depth interview. The quantitative data instrument was a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire. Manual content analysis was done for the qualitative data. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS version 22. Results Sixty-four (32.0%), 131(65.5%) and 5(2.5%) had good, fair and poor knowledge of SP respectively while 117(58.5%), 70(35.0%) and 13(6.5%) had good, fair and poor attitude to SP respectively. Fifty-nine (29.5%), 140(70.0%) and 1(0.5%) had good, fair and poor practice of SP respectively. Conclusion There was fair knowledge and practice of SP among the studied HCWs while attitude was good.