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Determinants of nurses' adherence to universal precautions for venipunctures
1Laval University research group on behaviors in the field of health, Faculty of Nursing, Pavillon Comtois, Quebec, Canada.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to predict and explain nurses' adherence to Universal Precautions (UPs) when performing venipunctures.
Methods:
Data were gathered from 156 registered nurses working at a regional hospital. A self-administered questionnaire assessing the psychosocial variables (intention, attitude, subjective norm, perceived control, etc) was completed at baseline, and behavior was self-reported 3 months later.
Results:
The regression of intention on the variables yielded an adjusted R(2) of 0.68, with perceived barriers (beta =.62, P <.001), social norm (beta =.17, P <.01), and personal normative belief (beta =.19, P <.01) being the significant variables. With respect to the 3-month follow-up, 28% of the variance associated with UPs adherence was explained by intention (beta =.37, P <.001) and perceived behavioral control (beta =.23, P <.05). Moreover, high (n = 116) and low intenders (n = 40) differed on several normative beliefs (P =.0003) and perceived barriers (P =.0001).
Conclusions:
It is suggested that perception of control, assessed either globally or by means of a belief-based measure, is a key factor in adherence. Specifically, the perceived difficulties associated with adherence to UPs appear to be related to a nurse's training on UPs and to the existence of suboptimal working conditions.