@article{El-Ghitany_Elrewany_Omran_Farghaly_Azzam_2023, title={Self-reported adherence of healthcare workers to infection prevention and control practices during the early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt}, volume={19}, url={https://ijic.info/article/view/22791}, DOI={10.3396/ijic.v19.22791}, abstractNote={<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Considering the absence of effective treatment, the World Health Organization had recommended stringent infection prevention and control (IPC) measures against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to reduce its transmission. The non-adherence of healthcare workers (HCWs) to these measures had been reported as a major cause of infection.</p> <p><strong>Aim:</strong> To assess the level of self-reported adherence of HCWs to IPC measures during their social life and work time.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> This cross-sectional study included 559 HCWs (411 females and 148 males) working at 39 hospitals across different Egyptian governorates. A predesigned structured questionnaire about COVID-19 IPC measures was completed by trained interviewers.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Washing hands before eating (98.2%), using soap for hand wash (97.9%), washing hands after returning home (96.6%), and wearing a face mask when going outside in public places (83.7%) were the commonest daily-life practices among the 559 studied HCWs, while the least common was social distancing (46.0%). Less than half of the studied HCWs were adherent to the proper duration of handwashing (<em>P <</em> 0.01). Only 5.9% of the studied HCWs usually wore full personal protective equipment (PPE) at work (<em>P</em> = 0.051). The highest percentages of HCWs working at outpatient clinics and laboratories (98.1% each) ‘sometimes’ used PPE (<em>P</em> = 0.017). There was a significant difference in self-reported adherence to wearing face masks at hospitals according to specialties (<em>P <</em> 0.01). HCWs working at intensive care units (ICUs) recorded the highest attendance rates at IPC training (53.8%, <em>P</em> = 0.012). A relatively higher percentage of HCWs at COVID-19 isolation hospitals wore PPE (15.7%) versus 2.2–4.7% in other hospitals (<em>P</em> = 0.015).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The majority of HCWs sometimes complied with wearing PPE (93.6%). HCWs were more adherent to wearing masks at hospitals (94.6%) compared to community settings (42.9%). Older age and female gender were significantly associated with self-reported adherence to some IPC measures. Hand hygiene training session emphasizing the proper duration of hand wash is mandatory.</p>}, journal={International Journal of Infection Control}, author={El-Ghitany, Engy Mohamed and Elrewany, Ehab and Omran, Eman A. and Farghaly, Azza Galal and Azzam, Nashwa Fawzy Abd El-Moez}, year={2023}, month={Mar.} }