Perceptions and attitudes of the professional staff concerning infection surveillance and control programs in Brazilian hospitals

Background Several countries have conducted studies to assess the status of their infection control programs (ICP) with the objective of improving quality of infection control practices. Methods To assess the perceptions and attitudes of the health care workers (HCW) concerning ICP in Brazilian hosp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of infection control 2010-02, Vol.38 (1), p.59-62
Main Authors: Guerra, Carla Morales, MD, MSc, Ramos, Monica Parente, MSc, PhD, Penna, Virginia Zagallo, NR, Goto, Janaina Midori, MD, Santi, Leandro Queiroz, MD, de Andrade Stempliuk, Valeska, MSc, PhD, Sallas, Janaina, MSc, Medeiros, Eduardo A.S., MD, PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Biological and medical sciences
Brazil
Cross Infection - prevention & control
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data Collection - methods
Disease control
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Epidemiology
Epidemiology. Vaccinations
General aspects
Health care workers
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Personnel
Hospitals
Humans
Infection Control
Infection Control - methods
infection control programs
Infectious Disease
Infectious diseases
Internet
Medical personnel
Medical sciences
Perceptions
Planification. Prevention (methods). Intervention. Evaluation
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Background Several countries have conducted studies to assess the status of their infection control programs (ICP) with the objective of improving quality of infection control practices. Methods To assess the perceptions and attitudes of the health care workers (HCW) concerning ICP in Brazilian hospitals, we conducted a cross-sectional survey using a self-administered online questionnaire during a Web-based course (WBC) on infection control (IC) and antimicrobial resistance (AR). Results Of 6256 Brazilian HCW registered for the WBC, 1998 were members of infection control committees (ICC) and answered the survey. Eight hundred six (40.4%) respondents said that an ICP was established for more than 10 years in their institutions. Most professionals reported that their hospitals perform microbiologic surveillance targeted at epidemiologically important multidrug-resistant organisms, but the majority underestimated the prevalence of AR. Conclusion Our survey highlights important information about the perceptions and attitudes of ICC members that may be used to tailor key interventions for implementing effective ICP. It suggests, additionally, that, to achieve countrywide standardized IC mechanisms in a developing country, authorities should consider the social, cultural, and economical disparities between regions and identify specific regional needs to make available the resources required to minimize such disparities.
ISSN:0196-6553
1527-3296
DOI:10.1016/j.ajic.2009.05.011