674 FOCUSING ON ADHERENCE TO INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL RECOMMENDATIONS: FACILITATORS AND BARRIERS. AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE ROLE OF HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN CARDIOLOGY SETTINGS

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Cardiovascular devices and their associated placement, management and maintenance require adequate adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) programs, which are paramount to patient and healthcare provider safety. The lack of control of adverse events and complications due to non-compliance with guidelines and recommendations is clearly a potential risk that needs to be known and avoided. Therefore, it is crucial to identify and describe the potential enabling factors and existing barriers to the use of and adherence to infection control guidelines and recommendations by healthcare providers in the cardiovascular setting. Methods An observational study was conducted involving 53 healthcare providers from cardiovascular settings. An online survey was used to explore sociodemographic information, attitudes towards evidence-based practice and its application (IPC-COQ), factors influencing adherence to standard precautions (FIASP Adapted), and potential barriers and facilitators. Results The sample was mostly composed by female providers (66%) with a mean age of 41 years. The Attitude domain score (IPC-COQ) was 3.87 (+-0.44), while the Utilization domain score was 3.20 (+- 0.61). The overall FIASP score was 2.84 (+-0.44). The main barriers to adherence reported were: poor relationship between health providers and patients, heavy workload, limited availability of PPE; of the facilitators of adherence, the most frequently cited were: interest in infection control in my department, personal motivation to adhere to EPB, peer involvement. A significant relationship was found between the domains IPC-COQ, FIASP and facilitators and barriers. Discussion The identification of potential barriers and facilitators to adherence to IPC recommendations in cardiology could serve as a starting point for the development and implementation of guideline and recommendation adherence strategies by healthcare providers. This will naturally support decision-making processes from which to infer which of these factors need to be removed and which need to be strengthened in order to improve the efficiency and utility of IPC programs in cardiology settings.