Determinants of nurses' adherence to universal precautions for venipunctures

The aim of this study was to predict and explain nurses' adherence to Universal Precautions (UPs) when performing venipunctures.

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.

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).

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.