Hospital Healthcare Workers Research Articles

Perception of stress among healthcare workers in hospitals in Belgrade during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has affected healthcare institutions and workers, exposing them to unfamiliar and hazardous conditions, increased workloads, and changing directives. This has led to work-related stress, resulting in burnout, depression, anxiety disorders, and other health issues among healthcare workers. Methods This cross-sectional study utilized an anonymous questionnaire with closed-ended questions. To assess stress levels among healthcare workers, a Likert-type scale was used. Over 6.000 healthcare workers completed the questionnaire in 2022. The relationship between the dependent variable (perceived stress level) and predictors was modelled using generalized ordinal univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Results Almost a third (30.7%) of respondents felt a very high amount of tension, stress, or pressure while performing their jobs under the conditions of the COVID-19 epidemic, while 422 (6.8%) did not feel tension, stress, or pressure at all. In the multivariate logistic regression model, statistically significant predictors of higher levels of perceived stress in the conditions of the COVID-19 epidemic include female sex (OR = 0,80), older age (OR = 1.19), being in a managerial position (OR = 1.32), lower satisfaction with available work time (OR = 0.82), patient relations (OR = 0.81), financial compensation (OR = 0.83), and cooperation with colleagues (OR = 0.93). Conclusions Through the identification of potential stress predictors, valuable insights are gained to aid policymakers in the planning and enhancement of healthcare personnel’s work during pandemics, as well as in situations characterized by heightened stress levels. Key messages • These findings emphasize supporting healthcare workers during the pandemic. • Strategies for reducing stress should be directed towards healthcare professionals who experience higher stress levels.

Increased incidence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis in the skin and nasal carriage among healthcare workers and inanimate hospital surfaces after the COVID-19 pandemic

Background and Objectives: Healthcare workers in hospitals are exposed to infectious diseases that occur in the hospital making them a source of infection for the patients. It is interfaced as cross-contamination agents for MRSA and MR-CoNS, and preventive measures need to be adapted accordingly. The study aimed to assess Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus (MRS) on the skin and nasal cavities of healthcare workers (HCWs) and identifying isolates to the species level. Materials and Methods: Swab samples were cultured on mannitol salt agar (MSA) to obtain MRS and determine their ability to produce coagulase. Their susceptibility to antibiotics were determined by agar screening and disk diffusion methods and further identification was done at the species level. Results: The highest percentage of methicillin resistant coagulase positive Staphylococci (MRCoPS) was reported among skins of male HCWs, (71.4%) were identified as MRSA. The highest levels of methicillin resistant coagulase negative Staph-ylococci (MRCoNS) were mainly detected in both nasal cavities, (75%) were identified as MRSE. MRSA was reported from doctors (p-value 0.033), whereas the highest incidence of MRSE was obtained from the nurses (p-value 0.048). Conclusion: This study highlighted that incidence of MRSA was mainly detected in doctors and MRCoNS in both nasal cav- ities. The highest percentage of MRCoNS was recovered from the patients’ room followed by the reception table. Moreover, vancomycin is suggested to be highly effective in managing and controlling S. aureus, MRSA- and MRSE related infections.

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN THE EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION QUALITY ON JOB SATISFACTION

The study has multiple purposes. The first purpose is to measure the impact of organizational communication on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The second purpose is to measure the impact of organizational commitment on job satisfaction. The third and final purpose is to determine the mediating role of organizational commitment in the impact of organizational communication quality on job satisfaction. The study data was obtained using a survey method from 390 healthcare workers in a state hospital in Izmir. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationships between variables. The analysis results indicate that organizational communication has a significant and positive impact on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Additionally, it was found that organizational commitment has a substantial and positive effect on job satisfaction. Furthermore, it was determined that organizational commitment plays a mediating role in the effect of organizational communication on job satisfaction.

UNSEEN TUBERCULOSIS: STUDY AMONG INPATIENTS OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF NORTH KARNATAKA

Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in high-burden countries like India. However, high proportion of people never diagnosed or treated. Delayed diagnosis poses a significant threat to hospital inpatients, health-care workers, and medical trainees. Hence, systematic screening of high-risk groups, including hospital inpatients, has been recommended as a strategy to identify TB. Using signs and symptoms as an independent screening tool remains a global challenge for its relatively low accuracy. However, it could still be of value when it was used in a specific target population like inpatients of hospital. Hence, this study is aimed to determine the proportion of presumptive and active TB cases among inpatients. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among inpatients above 18 years of age admitted in non-emergency wards admitted during March to April 2023 at ESIC Hospital in Kalaburagi. A pre-existing TB diagnosis and patients admitted to critical care units were excluded. The convenient sampling method was used to recruit participants. Data were collected through using a pre-designed, semi-structured questionnaire. The patients who presented with one of the four symptoms for screening had undergone investigations such as cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test, chest X-ray, and sputum microscopy to confirm the diagnosis, and the findings were recorded as proportion. Results: Out of 1363 inpatients, 35 (2.5%) patients had classified as presumptive TB case. Out of 35, 3 (8.57%) were found to be actual TB cases. All patients who had positive results for TB were young patients and belonged to low socioeconomic class. Two of three were rifampicin-sensitive TB cases. Conclusion: Timely screening of the patient’s is of utmost importance to avoid further spread of TB infection among inpatients. The higher prevalence of actual TB cases in younger adults needs further exploration.

An empirical study of job crafting and employees’ loyalty in the Nigerian healthcare system

Many factors have contributed to the continuous departure of workers from the Nigerian healthcare system since the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, this study aimed at examining the effect of job crafting on the loyalty of healthcare workers in public hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria. The study population was 11,084, comprising all the doctors and nurses in public hospitals in Lagos, with a sample size of 725 using the Morgan Sample Size Determination table. We collected primary data using a well-structured questionnaire and conducted analysis using structural equation modeling. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between job creation and healthcare workers' loyalty in the public healthcare system. This implies that job creation influences health care workers' loyalty. This study suggests that the management of the public healthcare system should encourage and support job crafting while also building and encouraging positive relationships among healthcare workers to ensure their loyalty and effective service delivery.

The Resilience of Healthcare Workers in Hospital During Covid-19 Crisis

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in all corners of the world has made all activities from various sectors difficult and even experience complete paralysis. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis emerged in various organizations engaged in the medical and non-medical fields. With the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a transformational leadership role is needed as a form to overcome feelings of worry, fear, and anxiety that arise in healthcare workers. The purpose of this review is to examine the resilience of healthcare workers amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through well-established adopted questionnaires, data were collected from healthcare workers (N=134) treating COVID-19 patients in the Islamic Hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia. This type of research uses a quantitative approach, a sampling method with census technicalities, and the Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis method. The results showed that transformational Leadership had a positive effect on health workers. Then, there was no significant influence of transformational Leadership on negative effects on health workers. At the same time, from positive effects, it was found to have a significant influence on the resilience of health workers of Islamic Hospital during the COVID-19 crisis.

External validation of Finnish diabetes risk score (FINDRISC) and Latin American FINDRISC for screening of undiagnosed dysglycemia: Analysis in a Peruvian hospital health care workers sample.

To evaluate the external validity of Finnish diabetes risk score (FINDRISC) and Latin American FINDRISC (LAFINDRISC) for undiagnosed dysglycemia in hospital health care workers. We carried out a cross-sectional study on health workers without a prior history of diabetes mellitus (DM). Undiagnosed dysglycemia (prediabetes or diabetes mellitus) was defined using fasting glucose and two-hour oral glucose tolerance test. LAFINDRISC is an adapted version of FINDRISC with different waist circumference cut-off points. We calculated the area under the receptor operational characteristic curve (AUROC) and explored the best cut-off point. We included 549 participants in the analysis. The frequency of undiagnosed dysglycemia was 17.8%. The AUROC of LAFINDRISC and FINDRISC were 71.5% and 69.2%; p = 0.007, respectively. The optimal cut-off for undiagnosed dysglycemiaaccording to Index Youden was ≥ 11 in LAFINDRISC (Sensitivity: 78.6%; Specificity: 51.7%) and ≥12 in FINDRISC (Sensitivity: 70.4%; Specificity: 53.9%). The discriminative capacity of both questionnaires is good for the diagnosis of dysglycemia in the healthcare personnel of the María Auxiliadora hospital. The LAFINDRISC presented a small statistical difference, nontheless clinically similar, since there was no difference by age or sex. Further studies in the general population are required to validate these results.

Comparison of psychopathology, purpose in life and moral courage between nursing home and hospital healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected healthcare workers, although the impact may have differed according to different workplace contexts. The aim of this current research was to compare the psychopathology presented by hospital versus nursing home healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyse the predictive role of purpose in life and moral courage in the appearance of psychopathology. This was an observational, cross-sectional study carried out on a sample of 108 healthcare workers, 54 each from a hospital or nursing homes, who were recruited during the 5 and 6th waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. Various self-reported scales were used to assess anxiety, depression, acute/post-traumatic stress disorder, drug and alcohol abuse, burnout, purpose in life, and moral courage. Compared to the hospital healthcare workers, nursing home healthcare workers had higher scores and a higher prevalence of anxiety (74.1% vs. 42%), depression (40.7% vs. 14.8%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (55.6% vs. 25.9). In the overall sample, purpose in life was a protective factor against psychopathology (OR = 0.54) and burnout (OR = 0.48); moral courage was a protective factor against depression (OR = 0.47) and acute stress (OR = 0.45); and exposure of family/friends to SARS-CoV-2 was a risk factor for acute stress (OR = 2.24), post-traumatic stress disorder (OR = 1.33), and higher burnout depersonalisation subscale scores (OR = 1.84). In conclusion, the increased presence of psychopathology in nursing home healthcare workers may be influenced by workplace and occupational contexts, personal factors such as exposure of family/friends to SARS-CoV-2, or internal dimensions such as purpose in life and moral courage. This knowledge could be useful for understanding how a future epidemic or pandemic might affect the mental health of healthcare workers in different labour contexts.

Unmasking the silent epidemic: Prevalence of workplace violence against healthcare workers in wad Madani hospital, Gezira, Sudan (2023)

Unmasking the silent epidemic: Prevalence of workplace violence against healthcare workers in wad Madani hospital, Gezira, Sudan (2023)

Knowledge and Attitude Towards Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV/AIDS and its Associated Factors Among Health Care Workers in Debretabor Compressive Specialized Hospital 2023

Back ground: Human immunodeficiency virus infection is a severe public health issue that claims the lives of numerous people, including medical professionals. The effectiveness of daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention among at-risk individuals has thus been repeatedly shown in clinical trials. An important public health opportunity to reduce HIV incidence is presented by pre-exposure prophylaxis. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate health care workers' knowledge, attitudes, and factors related to pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV/AIDS at Debretabor comprehensive specialized hospital in Debretabor, Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 322 health care workers in Debretabor comprehensive specialized hospital from June to July, 2023. The data were collected by trained data collectors using a structured questionnaire with self-administered questioners. The collected data were entered, and the data were checked, coded, data cleaning and analysis using SPSS version 23. Result: The level of attitudes of pre-exposure prophylaxis was analyzed among all 322 respondents. Overall attitudes of health care workers were 68% [95% CL: 62.7-72.7].Off 322 study participants were participated with a response rate of 100%. About 134(41.6%) health care workers had six to ten year clinical experience in their profession, and almost half, 63(51.6%) health care workers in this study were Nurses followed by 62(19.3%) doctors. Majority of 203(63%), and 127(39.4%) were male, and educational status were BSc degree, Prior to conduct this survey, 273 (84.8%) the respondents were aware of the concept of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. but only half of, 171 (53.1%) Previously took training on pre-exposure prophylaxis. And 37 (11.5%) of participants had self-rating poor knowledge about HIV- pre-exposure prophylaxis. Variables which had P value less than 0.25 in bivariable analysis would be adequate for multivariable logistic regression analysis, and then in the final stage of multivariable analysis two variables such as marital status [AOR:.211(0.048-0.932],educational status[AOR:.032(.003- .365],[AOR:.181(0.054-0.600)],[AOR:.112(0.027-0.469)],[AOR: .084(0.025-0.286)], and [AOR: .204(0.058-0.720)] of health care workers had significantly associated with the attitudes of pre-exposure prophylaxis.. Conclusion and Recommendation: Our study shows that, inadequate knowledge, and attitude towards pre-exposure prophylaxis, and its management comparing to previously conducted researches, but the current study shows low levels of attitudes, there is suboptimal knowledge about PrEP. So concerned bodies expected to give training to health care workers to increase knowledge, and attitude of health care workers, and researchers expected to conduct research in the area of pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Medical Waste Management for Healthcare Providers in Two of Government Hospitals in Karbala, Iraq

Background: Medical waste is a significant health danger and environmental pollution problem due to its hazardous composition. The expertise and practice of healthcare staff in the proper removal of medical waste is essential for good medical waste management. The purpose of this study was to analyze the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to medical waste management among healthcare workers in hospitals in Karbala/Iraq. Materials and Methods: descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire distributed to health care providers in two selected hospitals in Karbala/ Iraq. Results: The results showed the good level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare providers towards medical waste. There is statistical significance between health care providers' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards medical waste, and their educational level and training courses. In addition to the recording of the statistical significance that were between knowledge with attitudes and practices. The levels can be categorized as positive but it is important to focus on increasing and improving the training of health care providers as it is the basis of the medical waste treatment process. Conclusion: increasing knowledge is one of the best tools to maintain proper workflow in isolating medical waste and maintaining the safety of employees, patients, and the environment.

Evaluation of hand hygiene practices of health care workers in tertiary care hospital by systematic hand hygiene audits

: Hand hygiene (HH) holds a pivotal role in infection control. However, compliance with hand hygiene has remained low worldwide. Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) incidence is rising in most healthcare facilities. It is postulated that around 30% of HAI can be reduced by following strict hand hygiene protocols by healthcare workers (HCWs). This study was done to evaluate the level of compliance of healthcare personnel in our tertiary care hospital with respect to appropriate hand hygiene practices by employing HH audits. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital over six months. A single‑ observer direct observation technique was used to collect the HH compliance data conducted by trained Infection control nurses. HCWs, including doctors, nurses, CRMIs and technicians, were observed for compliance in all the critical areas, outpatient and inpatient sections across all departments. The HH audit form designed based on the WHO's HH audit tool kit was used in the study. The audits were conducted randomly in all the areas for at least 20 minutes per day. : A total of 583 HCWs were observed for the Hand Hygiene Compliance audit. The overall HH compliance rate was 67.88%, with doctors at 74.31%, followed by nurses at 70.42%. Compliance was observed in OBG/Labour ward at 78.7% and the oncology ward at 78.5%. WHO moments-specific hand hygiene adherence showed the least compliance rate of 55% for moment 1, followed by moment 5 with 58.9%. Best compliance was observed for moment 3, with 79.2%.: The overall hand hygiene compliance was comparatively better in our study. Specific measures such as improved facilities, training and monitoring are needed to attain good H`H compliance.

Vaccinating the Frontlines: A Qualitative Exploration of Hospital Healthcare Worker Perspectives on Influenza and COVID-19 Immunization.

Although they face higher occupational risk of contracting viral respiratory infections, hospital healthcare worker vaccine hesitancy persists. While most studies have used survey methods to quantify the prevalence of and reasons for healthcare worker vaccine hesitancy, this study employs a qualitative approach to understand their attitudes and beliefs associated with influenza and COVID-19 vaccination. To understand frontline healthcare worker experiences and perspectives on influenza and COVID-19 vaccination, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted in summer/fall 2022 with staff recruited from two Johns Hopkins hospitals in Maryland. An in-depth, key informant interview was conducted with an expert in public health audience engagement. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for thematic and Framework analysis using NVivo software (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). Healthcare workers engaged in little influenza vaccine information seeking due to their familiarity with the disease and low perceived disease severity. Approximately half (n=16) of healthcare workers reported no vaccine hesitancy towards influenza or COVID-19 vaccines. No physicians or physician assistants expressed any vaccine hesitancy, while most nurses expressed some (n=10). More than half of the women (n=14) expressed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy compared to none of the men. Structural factors including hospital tier, unit assignment, and professional role influenced perceived risk of disease exposure and subsequent healthcare worker vaccination decisions. Institutional policies, including mandates and a pro-vaccine environment encouraged vaccination uptake. Healthcare workers reported being more receptive to vaccine messaging that focused on protection from disease, scientific and public health data and their heightened occupational exposure to pathogens. Despite their medical knowledge, healthcare workers are susceptible to vaccine hesitancy. Strategies to address specific concerns are needed and can be informed by our findings. A flexible and multi-pronged approach that considers individual anxieties, workplace structures, and the need for open communication with tailored messaging is necessary to promote vaccine acceptance in healthcare settings. What is already known on this topic: Healthcare worker vaccine hesitancy has been associated with many factors including race, gender, age and concerns about vaccine safety.What this study adds: Much of the research on healthcare worker vaccine hesitancy has used surveys and questionnaires giving a broad description of the prevalence and patterns of vaccine hesitancy in the healthcare workforce. This qualitative study examines vaccine behavior (rather than merely intent) through a cross comparison of healthcare workers' experiences and attitudes towards influenza and COVID-19 vaccination.How this study might affect research, practice or policy: Study findings can be used to help tailor vaccine messaging to hospital healthcare workers which could offset concerns regarding vaccine efficacy and risk, to promote vaccine uptake.

Design of a Model Using Machine Learning and Deep Dyna Q Learning Integration for Improved Disease Prediction in Remote Healthcare

In the domain of proactive healthcare management, the imperative for remote health monitoring has escalated, the remote health care in this scenario specially means, the patient is seating at the remote location that is not in the hospital setting, and doctor or healthcare worker is monitoring the health parameters gathered using biomedical sensors and passed through the network. Conventional methodologies, while partially effective, encounter challenges in predictive precision, responsiveness to evolving health dynamics, and managing the vast array of patient data. These limitations underscore the demand for a sophisticated, holistic solution catering to diverse use cases. This work introduces a pioneering framework amalgamating traditional machine learning (ML) models with the advanced capabilities of Deep Dyna Q Learning process to overcome existing constraints. This framework strategically utilizes ensemble of traditional algorithms which amalgamates the strengths of these diverse models. Central to this model is the integration of Deep Dyna Q Learning, empowering the system with real-time adaptability and dynamic decision-making process through reinforcement learning principles, thereby deriving insights from historical and simulated datasets to foster more nuanced, patient-centric decisions. The impact of this comprehensive approach is profound, evidenced by preliminary results showcasing significant enhancements in the efficiency of remote health monitoring systems. Notably, the model achieves increase in precision, accuracy and recall for disease prediction. These improvements signify a paradigm shift towards proactive and efficient healthcare interventions, especially in remote settings. The fusion of traditional ML techniques with Deep Dyna Q Learning emerges as a potent solution, heralding a revolution in remote health monitoring and establishing a new benchmark for proactive healthcare delivery scenarios.

Comparison of Health Complaints, Occupational Risks, and Occupational Health Practices of Healthcare Workers According to Professions and Departments in the Hospital.

It is essential to protect the health of healthcare workers who constitute a large part of the workforce worldwide and whose importance has become more evident after the recent pandemic. There are numerous occupational hazards for healthcare workers in hospitals. The study aims to assess the exposure hazards of healthcare workers and their health complaints, as well as their awareness, knowledge, opinions, and attitudes towards occupational health and safety (OHS), considering workers' professions and departments in a public hospital. This cross-sectional study conducted a survey among healthcare workers (n=608) who worked at Yozgat City Hospital, Yozgat, Turkey. The majority of workers were nurses (43.4%, N=264/608). Latex exposure (63.7%, N=387/608) and noise (55.8%, N=339/608) were the most common exposed hazards, and the risk varies depending on their professions and job descriptions. However, the risk perception of workers was priorities of infectious diseases (48.5%, N=292/602) and violence (27.4%, N=165/602). Musculoskeletal system problems (71.9%, n=439/608) were observed very frequently in workers. Additionally, 9.2% (N=56/608) of workers were diagnosed with an occupational disease. The unit and profession most commonly diagnosed with occupational diseases were the laboratory (22.5%, N=9/40) and midwives (19.4%, N=14/72), respectively. The frequency of workers who stated that they had a work accident at least once in their lives was 31.9% (N=194/608), and higher frequencies belonged to nurses, health officers, and midwives. Additionally, the emergency department was the riskier unit. The study conducted relationship analyses between exposure to various occupational agents at different exposure frequencies and various health complaints. The relationships of occupational hazards such as chemotherapeutics, anesthetic gases, aerosol type drugs, sterilization and disinfection agents, xylene, toluene, formaldehyde, and surgical smoke with health complaints such as liver, dermal diseases, respiratory problems, and varicose veins have been determined. The hospital workers had a high rate of injuries to sharp objects and musculoskeletal systems. Remarkably, operating rooms and emergency rooms were found to be riskier in terms of work accidents. More than half of healthcare workers may delay using personal protective equipment (PPE) due to excessive workload. Further studies are needed on the effects of more specific occupational chemicals and diseases, such as varicose veins, fertility, and neurological problems. Frequent risk assessments, effective training, workload reduction, and biomarker monitoring are crucial for hospital workplace safety.

Barriers and Facilitators to Optimal Antibiotic Prescribing on Discharge from the Hospital to Nursing Homes

Background: Up to half of antibiotics used in nursing homes (NHs) are initiated in acute care hospitals prior to nursing home admission. Optimizing antibiotic prescribing on hospital discharge presents an opportunity to improve NH antibiotic use. We aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to optimal antibiotic prescribing on discharge from the hospital to NHs. Methods: This was a qualitative thread of a convergent parallel mixed methods study to identify high-value targets to optimize antibiotic prescribing on discharge from the hospital to NHs. We conducted 32 qualitative interviews: 16 with prescribers (9), pharmacists (6), and a care manager (1) from 3 acute care hospitals and 16 with advanced practice providers (12) and registered nurses/nurse managers (4) from 7 NHs in Oregon and Wisconsin. Interview participants were asked to describe their typical practice for prescribing antibiotics on discharge to NHs or admitting patients with antibiotic prescriptions from hospitals, and about barriers and facilitators for optimal antibiotic prescribing during these transitions. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by 3 investigators using the qualitative descriptive analysis Results: Hospital healthcare workers described that there are different practice flows for oral and intravenous (IV) antibiotic prescribing. IV antibiotic orders are typically routed to the infectious diseases (ID) specialists and ID pharmacists to review and verify appropriateness. There were minimal established workflows to review and verify oral antibiotic orders. Pharmacists appeared integral to optimal antibiotic prescribin; however, the high frequency of oral prescriptions and short turnaround times from discharge orders to transportation limited pharmacists’ abilities to review these orders. With limited pharmacist involvement, the quality of oral antibiotic prescription relied on the prescribers’ knowledge, and there was no systematic oversight for inexperienced prescribers or specialists who may not be familiar with the adequacy of antibiotic use for NH residents. NH participants perceived that most antibiotics prescribed from hospitals were appropriate. Yet, some commented that they occasionally observe inadequate or unusual prescriptions from newer prescribers or specialists. NH participants most common concern related to antibiotic prescriptions was missing information including unclear or lack of antibiotic indications or stop dates. NH participants also stated that the frequent need to contact the hospital to obtain missing information is challenging and burdensome. Conclusions: Qualitative interviews identified several barriers and facilitators to optimal antibiotic prescribing on discharge to NHs. These results will be used to develop an intervention to improve antibiotic prescribing during these transitions.

Safety Awareness in Governmental and Private Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Objectives: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to several occupational health risks that affect their safety and require enhancement of their knowledge and awareness towards the safety practices. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the safety awareness among HCWs in governmental and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A pre-designed safety questionnaire was distributed among HCWs in selected hospitals through emails or WhatsApp groups including the Saudi and non-Saudi staff who have been working for more than a year. Results: Only 30% of the participants showed awareness of the noise hazard, 43% were aware of the radiation hazard, whereas 53.7% were aware of the lighting hazard. The awareness of fire threats was comparatively greater at 68.5%. Conclusion: Our results highlight the need for focused education and training programs to guarantee a safer working environment in healthcare units, particularly large hospitals and evaluate the safety awareness levels among HCWs regularly to monitor progress and prepare responsive training programs.

Management practices that promote preventive measures compliance: A comparative analysis between hospital healthcare workers and teachers

Frontline workers were at significant risk during the COVID-19 pandemic; as a result, several recommendations were implemented to protect the health and safety of frontline professions. Despite guidelines issued by the relevant authorities, several observations have emerged that workplaces do not always implement the wearing of personal protective equipment and compliance with other preventive measures. This study investigates healthcare workers and teachers’ compliance with these measures in Quebec, Canada. Specifically, this study aims to examine the application of preventive measures among hospital healthcare workers and elementary and high school teachers, identify the factors associated with the application of preventive measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and understand the differences in the dynamics of applying preventive measures in hospitals and educational institutions. This study is based on a proposed new model for preventive measure compliance, which classifies the factors that could influence the dependent variable of compliance with preventive measures into three variables: organizational context, organizational incentives, and individual social responsibility. Data were collected using an observational cross-sectional design through an online questionnaire survey of teachers and hospital healthcare workers in Canada. The results highlight that the three variables can impact the application of preventive practices; however, these variables did not intervene in the same manner in hospitals and educational institutions. Indeed, the results show that management practices differ in the two sectors of activity, with practices being more favorable for hospital healthcare workers.

Correction: Seroprevalence and longevity of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen-IgG among health care workers in a large COVID-19 public hospital in Saudi Arabia: A prospective cohort study

Correction: Seroprevalence and longevity of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen-IgG among health care workers in a large COVID-19 public hospital in Saudi Arabia: A prospective cohort study

Prevalence and predictors of hand hygiene compliance in clinical, surgical and intensive care unit wards: results of a second cross sectional study at the Umberto I teaching hospital of Rome.

Hand hygiene is the most cost-effective procedure for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections, but healthcare worker compliance is often insufficient. The objective of this second cross-sectional study was to quantify hand hygiene compliance among the healthcare workers of a large teaching hospital, to explore associated factors and to compare results to those of the 2021 study. In 2022, educational sessions were conducted within each hospital department during which hospital healthcare workers received tailored feedback on the hand hygiene compliance registered in the previous year. Then, one month later, direct observations hand hygiene compliance with five World Health Organization recommendations were collected again by anonymous observers in each ward. Data were grouped by healthcare area (clinical, surgical and intensive care), and three multivariable logistic regression models were built to identify predictors of hand hygiene compliance. Overall, 5,426 observations were collected by 73 observers in three weeks. Hand hygiene compliance was 79.7%, 73.5% and 63.1% in clinical, surgical and intensive care areas, respectively, increasing in clinical wards but decreasing in surgical departments compared to the 2021 study. The multivariable analyses showed that hand hygiene compliance after patient contact was consistently higher than before patient contact, while there was some variability in compliance with other factors across the three areas. The study found suboptimal adherence to good hand hygiene practice, with the lowest rates observed before patient interaction, which, together with the variability recorded across departments, underscores the challenges involved in achieving a uniform level of compliance. Hence, additional training is essential to raise awareness among healthcare workers, while repeating this survey over time will also be crucial, so that hand hygiene compliance can be monitored and any major issue identified.