@article{McGaw_Tennant_Harding_Cawich_Crandon_Walters_2012, title={Healthcare workers’ attitudes to and compliance with infection control guidelines in the operating department at the university hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica}, volume={8}, url={https://ijic.info/article/view/10411}, DOI={10.3396/ijic.v8i3.10411}, abstractNote={Surgical operations provide opportunities for the transmission of infection between patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) and between patients. This risk may be increased in under-developed and developing countries by low compliance with infection control (IC) policies and precautions. This study investigated the attitude and compliance of HCWs in the operating department (OD) of a Jamaican teaching hospital, with the objective of obtaining data to design evidence-based interventions. A single-center, cross-sectional, descriptive study, using a self-administered questionnaire, was conducted between March-May, 2009. Ninety doctors and forty-two nurses, representing 73% and 75%, respectively, of their total OD population participated in the study. Reported compliance was low: only 17% of all participants were compliant with all of the seven infection control policies inquired into. The results also showed that HCWs were selective in what practices they adhered to: reported rates of compliance were high for hand-washing (100%), use of gloves (98%), use of gowns (83%) and facemasks (87%); but low for use of eye protection mask (56%), not re-sheathing needles (46%) and changing clothes when exiting and re-entering the OD (55%). Discrepancies were observed between attitude and compliance rates in such cases as ‘use of facemasks’- low favorable-attitude (68%) but high compliance; ‘use of eye protection masks’- high favorable-attitude (100%) but low compliance; and ‘not re-sheathing needles’- high favorable attitude (86%) but low compliance. Overall, nurses had higher favorable attitude (p<0.001) and compliance rates (p=0.008).than physicians. To improve HCWs adherence to guidelines, interventions must take account of those factors which determine human behaviour.}, number={3}, journal={International Journal of Infection Control}, author={McGaw, Clarence David and Tennant, Ingrid and Harding, Hyacinth E and Cawich, Shamir O and Crandon, Ivor W and Walters, CA}, year={2012}, month={Aug.} }