Understanding staff perceptions of infection control practices: The role of the Administrator

With the reemergence of diseases such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), concerns over hospital acquired infection (HAIs) are growing among hospital administrators. According to recent data, HAIs result in over 90,000 deaths and cost nearly seven million dollars to combat annually. Given this concern, administrators are encouraging better adherence to infection control protocols among staff. This study examines the use of the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework to assess the behavioral components involved in engaging in proper infection control practices among health care practitioners within a hospital setting. The HBM is composed of six scales that include perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action. A survey instrument was developed based on the six subscales of the HBM for the cross-sectional study. Since hand hygiene has been found to be beneficial in reducing HAIs, a knowledge scale was added on the hand-hygiene protocol implemented by the hospital. Results are based on 130 respondents representing health care professionals providing direct patient care. Findings revealed a variation among the scales, with respondents scoring high on perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers and self-efficacy in regards to engaging in proper infection control practices, while the scores on the cues to action, perceived susceptibility and knowledge on the hand-hygiene policy scales were lower. Such information can be beneficial to administrators as they plan, develop and implement professional development programs and other interventions for staff in order to reduce HAIs.