Infection Prevention Performance among In-Flight Cabin Crew in South Korea.

Jaegeum Ryu,Smi Choi-Kwon,Jungha Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126468

Abstract

COVID-19 was declared a worldwide pandemic in 2020; thus, preventing in-flight infection transmission is important for stopping global spread via air travel. Infection prevention (IP) performance among aircraft cabin crew is crucial for preventing in-flight transmission. We aimed to identify the level of IP performance and factors affecting IP performance among aircraft cabin crew during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. An online survey was conducted with 177 cabin crew members between August and September 2020. The survey assessed IP performance, and IP awareness, using a five-point Likert scale, and also evaluated simulation-based personal protective equipment (PPE) training experience, and organizational culture. The average IP performance score was 4.56 ± 0.44. Although the performance level for mask-wearing was high (4.73 ± 0.35), hand hygiene (HH) performance (4.47 ± 0.56) was low. Multivariate analysis showed that IP performance was significantly associated with IP awareness (p < 0.05) and simulation-based PPE training experience (p < 0.05). Since HH performance was relatively low, cabin crew and airlines should make efforts to improve HH performance. Furthermore, a high level of IP awareness and PPE training experience can improve IP performance among cabin crew members. Therefore, simulation-based PPE training and strategies to improve IP awareness are essential for preventing in-flight infection transmission.

Highlights

Since protective equipment (PPE) training experience has been shown to be related to improved Infection prevention (IP) performance, we evaluated whether participants had previously received simulation-based
Among the factors related to IP performance, the average score for maskwearing was 4.73, which was consistent with previous studies conducted with emergency room medical staff during the SARS epidemic and among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic [39,40]
We found that cabin crew members with simulation-based PPE training experience demonstrated hand hygiene (HH) performance after removing a Level D protective suit that was significantly superior to what is generally seen in non-medical personnel, average HH performance was still low for all participants

Summary

Introduction

COVID-19 was largely spread from China through people traveling via aircraft, leading to community transmission in other countries [4]. Strong measures, such as border closures, air traffic restrictions, and citywide lockdowns have been implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19 within and between countries [5]. As borders closed, it became difficult for citizens in foreign countries to return home, to which some countries responded by operating national chartered flights to bring back their own citizens [6,7]

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